Managing Student Papers { with Stephany from Primary Possibilities }

If you are a teacher, dealing with stacks of paper is like a full time job.  No matter how organized you are, you seem to always have a few piles sitting around.  Here are a few tips for getting rid of at least a few of those piles and making your life a little easier in the process!

I use this crate to collect student work that is completed that I don't take grades on.  These papers are recording sheets from stations and centers from both literacy and math rotations.  Students know when they are done to find their name and place their paper in the folder.  This has helped manage papers in so many ways.  If they don't remember their name it's in their folder so you aren't stuck trying to figure out who it belongs to.  If you don't want to check papers daily but you have an idea that someone may not be doing their best work, you can easily pull out their folder and pull them aside to conference with them.

I like having a "collection" to look at when the week ends.  I find it helpful to look at all that students' work for the week at the same time.   After I have looked over the work, I staple each student's set together and they are easily and quickly placed in mailboxes to go home.

Another way I manage student work are these drawers.  These are a great "catch all" for anything students haven't completed, morning work or close reads that you are working on that week.  This has saved me from having so many piles on my teacher table and counter!

I hope you are having a great year!  Don't forget to check out the other posts for more classroom procedure ideas!

An InLinkz Link-up

Parent Communication with Stephany from Primary Possibilities

There are a lot of great apps out right now that serve as tools for teachers to communicate with parents.  They are great because they take you outside of sites like Facebook where you have little control of parents sharing pictures or posting.  The Bloomz app has thought of everything when it comes to communication from the classroom!  It's super easy to use for the teacher.  I can't imagine how much time I will save uploading and sharing, communicating, and scheduling with this app! x

I recently did a review of the Bloomz app which is a great communication tool.    You can read more about it by clicking here.

I also like to keep track of my parent communication with these simple tracking sheets.  This is a great way to keep yourself accountable and also to give yourself some back up in sticky situations.  

How do you track parent communication in your classroom?

An InLinkz Link-up

Turkey Time Traditions {with Stephany from Primary Possibilities}

At school for the past two years we have had a Thanksgiving Feast for the students on Tuesday.  We make placemats and laminate them.  Once we are done with our feast at school, they can take them home and use them at their own Thanksgiving dinner.

During some of our school breaks I like to send home these work packets.  They keep students from getting too much of a "break" brain!  I always make them optional because some families are so busy over breaks with traveling or family events that they may not be able to fit the packets into their busy schedule.  (I also have packets for winter break and spring break.)

The skills in this packet review a lot of the skills taught up to this point in the first grade.  There are lots of easy ways to adjust the packet to be used during fall AND Thanksgiving Break.  Just pick the pages you want, copy and staple.   I usually reward completed booklets with a fun pencil once we return from break!

Finally, this year we decided to spread the thankfulness all around school.  I printed these simple cards on card stock (4 to a sheet) and had the kids write personal messages to each of the teachers and staff in the school.  We slipped the cards with a piece of candy into the mailboxes to brighten everyone's day and remind them that they are appreciated!  Click here to download the freebie!

Have a great Thanksgiving!

An InLinkz Link-up

My Lesson Planning Style {Stephany from Primary Possibilities}

Raise your hands if you dread Sunday night...be honest.  It seems like no matter how much work you plan ahead on Friday afternoon, there is always something that sneaks up on you Sunday night that involves lesson planning... maybe it is a group of papers you forgot to copy for Monday, books you forgot to grab from the school library that you pray are not checked out, or a station you forgot to switch out. 

I have tried a lot of different methods of planning over the years but I always end up going back to digital lesson plans.  This forces me to get them all done at the same time and be more prepared for the week versus writing them in an old school lesson plan book.

I also use these forms below to plan for my small group reteaching during ELA and MATH rotations.  They are SUPER simple but they leave me a lot of freedom to make notes and switch things up from week to week.  (You can download for free here.)

Happy Planning!

Meet the Teacher {Stephany from Primary Possibilities}

Meet your teacher night can be stressful and a total whirlwind of a night!  This is one of the most important nights of the year because it is the very first impression you give some of your parents!  Here are some tips for making your "Meet the Teacher" night successful!

I like to use a PowerPoint to go through some of the most important details of my classroom.  This keeps me from rambling... but even with the powerpoint, I make sure to keep notes nearby.   I discuss homework, discipline, special classes, and curriculum with parents so that they know what to expect in the coming year! 

I have baskets out on my teacher table for student to sort their extra supplies.  Each basket is labeled with the supply so that I don't have to deal with huge stacks of supplies all mixed together.  This also gives parents and kids something to do while I welcome others into the classroom.

I saw this great idea at School in the City who got the download as a FREE download from Nicole Blunt of First Grade Owls. 

How do you make your Back to School nights fun?

Ending Your Year with Student Awards!

2 more days... 2 more days!  Friday is the last day of school.  I know we all say that we are going to miss our students every year.  I actually truly am going to REALLY miss my class this year!    Last year was a creeper... it seemed to last forever. This year has flown by!  This group of kids is so sweet... even the difficult ones are so darn cute you can't help but turn the other way and let out a little chuckle before you reprimand whatever they were up to!  We are going to complete this quick and easy activity tomorrow between awards, cleaning up, and finishing up some other projects!

You can grab up this FREE printable by clicking HERE... I have included sheets for Kindergarten through Sixth grade.

I'm sending them off with my summer fun awards... each award can be paired with an item that is found right now at Dollar Tree or any other dollar store.  

A dollar a kid.... can't beat that!  Each award has a little saying to go with it that fits the personality of the child.

You can grab up my Summer Fun Awards by clicking HERE or on the picture above!  They also come in an editable form and in black/white... all in the same purchase!

I hope you have a great ending to your school year!

Celebrating America {with Stephany from Primary Possibilities}

There are a lot of important patriotic holidays coming up!  Make sure you follow all of the posts this first half of the month to grab up as many great ideas as you can!  I have a super easy and cute craft that you can use for any of the patriotic holidays!

You are going to need 7 bendable straws, a little tape, a paper plate, red/white/blue paint, and black construction paper.  Tape the straws together and then bend them outward to make a firework shape.  Pour some of the red, blue and white paint on the paper plate.  Don't worry if they get mixed, once you get started the paint will get all blended together anyway!  

Take the straws and place them on the paper.  You will want to lightly press down on the straws to make sure they make contact with the paper. 

 Dip the straws again and then press them down in the same spot but with the straws in a different spot.  This will give you a full looking firework!

I whipped up this writing paper that you can use to go with the craft!  There are two versions with different sized writing lines.   Click on the image below to go grab it up for FREE! 

What I Love About Teaching: Supporting Each Other!

I am here today to share one of the many things I LOVE about teaching!  You can usually find me blogging over at Primary Possibilities!

State testing time is coming up and you know what that means... stressed teachers and stressed kiddos!  It also means that it is a great time to support the kids and their tested out teachers.  Being a primary teacher, the stress is a lot less than the 3-5 teachers in our school.  Because of this we "adopt" one of the 3-5 classrooms!  We send them cards, make banners, and letters during the week of testing.  Last year we had a glow in the dark themed pep session...

  

We also send treats to the classrooms...

Here are a couple of free peppy printable tags that you can use to cheer on your kiddos this year!  CLICK HERE to go grab them up!

Teachers are always the best at supporting each other!  This is one of the things I love about teaching!