Fall Art Activity

Hi everyone! It's Valerie from All Students Can SHINE.

Are you always looking for fresh ideas for your art class? 

If you need a fun art activity for Fall, head over to this blog post for instructions.

My students did a great job on this project last year and I am looking forward to doing it with my new class this year :)

Have a great day,

Valerie

Classroom Management Ideas

Hi everyone,

Valerie here, from All Students Can SHINE.

I'm sharing a few classroom management tips today!

My favorite apps for classroom management are Too Noisy, Classroom Timer, and Classroom Team Selector. 

You can read all about them, along with a few others HERE.

I use a mystery walker and pick me sticks in my class and these work wonders!
You can read all about them HERE. 

My "Awesome Buttons" were a big hit in my class last year and I plan to use them again this year. You can read all about them HERE. Don't forget to grab them for FREE :)

My brain break cards have made a HUGE difference in my classroom. They are quick and very effective for helping kids get their wiggles out.

You can grab my brain break cards in my TPT store,
or you can get some in my Back To School pack.

You can also read all about brain breaks in this BLOG POST.

Finally, I will be using these transition cards and attention grabber cards with my new group of firsties. I have them all printed and laminated and I can't wait to take them with me to school in a couple of weeks!

I hope some of these ideas will help you with your classroom management.

Have a great school year,

Valerie

Getting To Know Your Students

Hi everyone,

Valerie here from All Students Can SHINE! I'm only a few weeks into my summer break and I'm already planning my first week back! Today, I'm here to share some ideas for getting to know your students on that very busy first week of school. Starting over with a brand new group can be quite overwhelming because we don't know much about our students yet and that makes everything a little tricky. I have a few tips for you that I hope will help!

On the very first day of school, I like to ask my students lots of questions. Kids LOVE to talk about themselves so I use this to my advantage. Those little learners can come to you very nervous and shy but you can turn that around really quickly by asking them to chat about themselves. 

We usually go around the room, giving everyone a chance to share a small personal fact. I use this wheel and give each student a chance to spin it. It gets kids moving (which can be very helpful for those little guys who don't like sitting for too long) and makes it fun because we get a different question every time a student spins!

We also fill out an "all about me" page. This is an easy way to assess my students' coloring and printing skills, which will help me quickly get to know them as learners in my classroom. 

Finally, we play a scavenger hunt game. Students walk around the classroom to chat with their new friends and to fill out their "find a friend" page. 

By the end of the day, everyone has had the opportunity to share a few things about themselves and learn about their new peers. It's a great way to break the ice and start the new school year on the right foot. It isn't stressful and helps everyone feel welcome!

Don't forget to grab yourself a FREEBIE before you go. 

(You will need to download the preview file to get it)

If you are looking for more tips for the first week of school,
check out my post at All Students Can SHINE.

You can also check out more posts from our fabulous authors here at the Primary Chalkboard. 

We have loads of tips and tricks for K-6!

I hope some of these tips will help you and I wish you a great first day of school,

Valerie

FREE Books With The EPIC App!

Hi everyone,

This is Valerie from All Students Can SHINE. I'm here to show you an awesome app.

I just LOVE finding new apps for our iPads! My students get SO excited when I show them a new app because it keeps them on their toes and they never get bored with the same apps. This week, I was browsing the app store and found this AMAZING tool!
Best part? It is FREE for TEACHERS!
What is better than a FREE app for your classroom?!
Nothing!
Well, maybe chocolate... with wine! Hahaha!

The app is called EPIC! and is jam packed with THOUSANDS of books that can be streamed in seconds. Kids can read books over and over without waiting for them to download. They can also have books read to them, which is GREAT for our beginning readers!

Epic has a bunch of awesome features like the "read to me" tool, categories for easy searching, reading logs,
and rewards for reading motivation.
They also provide a letter for parents, so you can ask them to join at home. The app is not free for parents but is SUPER cheap!
TOTALLY worth it, in my books ;)

Go check it out for yourself and test it with your students!

Later gators,

Valerie