My students have desks now, instead of tables, and it has made a huge difference in management. I love being able to say, "Get your ____ out and _______," instead always having to store, pass out and collect everything. In other words, they manage their own crap stuff.
They still sit in table teams, some facing each other, or with their sides to someone's front, but during certain periods, I let them turn their desks to the front of the room. I've started saying, "You are allowed to ______," and for some reason, they think the simplest thing is super special because they are "allowed."
"For the spelling test, 'you are allowed to turn your desk facing front' ready, go." I count to 5, there is a hurried scramble to get their desks in just the right spot, then they have to stop right where they are when I say 5. I am constantly being amused and entertained, especially during the spelling test.
If you've never witnessed the first spelling test in first grade, I urge you to volunteer, aka: spy, on the class when one is scheduled. We move desks, I pass out papers, check that absolutely everyone wrote his/her name, and tell them, "Put your finger on number 1." I check that everyone has their finger in the right spot. "Nope, that's not 1, put your finger on 1." When I believe most of them know where to write the word, I instruct, "Say 'rat'." They don't say it, but rather:
In unison, "rrrrrRRRR. aaaAA. t." I don't tell them to do this, it just happens. It happens for all 10 words and is so cute. I'm lucky to have a parent in the room at the time, doing homework folders, and we exchange glances/smiles.
Remember the dog homework folder tub I made? Well, it's working like a charm. Whenever a student tries to hand me a homework folder, I simply say, "Go give it to Fluffy!" The lit-up face exclaims, "oh yeah!" and scampers off to do just that.
A colleague shared her "morning work" that she does every day, so I tried it out. I like it, especially the back which has a sight word to read, a sentence to read, and then a little rhyming ditty with the sight word in it. Each has a tally box in which the students put a tally mark after they read. GENIUS.
Now they tally everything they read and it has changed my world! The poem of the week, the sight word sorts they make, mini books, etc...are all have a tally box, or the kids can make a tally box. I've even started using tally boxes for when they finish a worksheet early. I have them practice an element of the worksheet on the back and tally, "Practice 'the' on the back and tally each time you write it."
And when they read something to somebody; a classmate, me, a parent, the principal, they get to collect the initials of whoever listened. They love to show me how many initials they have on whatever they are reading! Since repeated reading of familiar text is the key to building fluency, and kids are typically more drawn to video games and tv than to reading, anything that gets them excited to read excites me.
Finally, Highlighter Game. Every week they have to sort their spelling words by whatever concept the list is focused on. To take it one step further, I started "Highlighter Game." I used to use real highlighter pens, but due to $$ issues (and the fact that using a highlighter pen in the proper fashion is lost on 6 year olds), I have them use their yellow crayon. To play, they have their completed sort and their crayon. I have the words and call out hints. If the word is pig, I might say, "Find the word that means a mammal that says, 'oink'." Or I might do a cloze (fill in the blank), sound out a word for them to put together and find, or just say the word and help them decide on which column to find it. It's a fun way to encourage higher level thinking while also practicing the spelling concept for the week.
Every minute of every day is filled with meaningful learning activities. So sometimes, I get overwhelmed by all I have to do to keep the cog moving along. The resulting knots in my neck and shoulders is the evidence that I stress out. But, on Pinterest I saw the most fitting verse that had a very positive effect on me:
They still sit in table teams, some facing each other, or with their sides to someone's front, but during certain periods, I let them turn their desks to the front of the room. I've started saying, "You are allowed to ______," and for some reason, they think the simplest thing is super special because they are "allowed."
"For the spelling test, 'you are allowed to turn your desk facing front' ready, go." I count to 5, there is a hurried scramble to get their desks in just the right spot, then they have to stop right where they are when I say 5. I am constantly being amused and entertained, especially during the spelling test.
If you've never witnessed the first spelling test in first grade, I urge you to volunteer, aka: spy, on the class when one is scheduled. We move desks, I pass out papers, check that absolutely everyone wrote his/her name, and tell them, "Put your finger on number 1." I check that everyone has their finger in the right spot. "Nope, that's not 1, put your finger on 1." When I believe most of them know where to write the word, I instruct, "Say 'rat'." They don't say it, but rather:
In unison, "rrrrrRRRR. aaaAA. t." I don't tell them to do this, it just happens. It happens for all 10 words and is so cute. I'm lucky to have a parent in the room at the time, doing homework folders, and we exchange glances/smiles.
Remember the dog homework folder tub I made? Well, it's working like a charm. Whenever a student tries to hand me a homework folder, I simply say, "Go give it to Fluffy!" The lit-up face exclaims, "oh yeah!" and scampers off to do just that.
A colleague shared her "morning work" that she does every day, so I tried it out. I like it, especially the back which has a sight word to read, a sentence to read, and then a little rhyming ditty with the sight word in it. Each has a tally box in which the students put a tally mark after they read. GENIUS.
Now they tally everything they read and it has changed my world! The poem of the week, the sight word sorts they make, mini books, etc...are all have a tally box, or the kids can make a tally box. I've even started using tally boxes for when they finish a worksheet early. I have them practice an element of the worksheet on the back and tally, "Practice 'the' on the back and tally each time you write it."
And when they read something to somebody; a classmate, me, a parent, the principal, they get to collect the initials of whoever listened. They love to show me how many initials they have on whatever they are reading! Since repeated reading of familiar text is the key to building fluency, and kids are typically more drawn to video games and tv than to reading, anything that gets them excited to read excites me.
Finally, Highlighter Game. Every week they have to sort their spelling words by whatever concept the list is focused on. To take it one step further, I started "Highlighter Game." I used to use real highlighter pens, but due to $$ issues (and the fact that using a highlighter pen in the proper fashion is lost on 6 year olds), I have them use their yellow crayon. To play, they have their completed sort and their crayon. I have the words and call out hints. If the word is pig, I might say, "Find the word that means a mammal that says, 'oink'." Or I might do a cloze (fill in the blank), sound out a word for them to put together and find, or just say the word and help them decide on which column to find it. It's a fun way to encourage higher level thinking while also practicing the spelling concept for the week.
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| They cut and sort words on Tuesday, then read and tally until I ring the bell. We play Hightlighter Game on Thursday afternoon as a quick review. |
Every minute of every day is filled with meaningful learning activities. So sometimes, I get overwhelmed by all I have to do to keep the cog moving along. The resulting knots in my neck and shoulders is the evidence that I stress out. But, on Pinterest I saw the most fitting verse that had a very positive effect on me:
"Stress is caused by giving a f __ __ __."
When I no longer give a F, I'll look for something else to do with my time. Until then, let's hang out with Fluffy and play Highlighter Game!
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