Morning Meeting Ideas

Friends~Do you host a morning meeting with your class?  I do, and it is one of my most favorite parts of the day.  It truly sets the tone for how our day will unfold.  It helps to build a strong classroom community all year long.  I am so lucky that at my new school we have time set aside in grades K-4 to have morning meeting each and every day! 

Today, I am going to share with you some ideas to get your own morning meeting time started!

I was so lucky this year to be working with a morning meeting master!  I got to observe one of our 2nd grade teachers this year that has been doing morning meeting forever. Mrs. Poling has the best format and her's is so directed towards character education.  She starts each week off with a word of the week.  Like this week was COOPERATION.  She reads a book at each morning meeting that goes along with the word of the week.  She even has a song for each word!  So AWESOME! She introduced me to these great CDs by Red Grammar.  They are perfect for morning meeting.  We use the Just Say Hi as our signal to begin MM.  Student head up to the front and sit in a circle and sing along!

  

Some ideas for Words of the Week are: 

Compassion, Active Listening, and Self Control

I highly recommend you get yourself a squeaky     hammer! I use a squeaky hammer to call the meeting to order and my students get a huge kick out of it. I always welcome them in a fun way.  You can see some ideas below.  After I call the meeting to order, we count off to check our attendance.  

We also welcome each other with a fist bump, hand shake, or a high five! 

Next, we get to our shares.  The students love this time because they get to share their exciting news with the class.    

I love this book for keeping my morning meeting on track.  It has awesome ideas and tips!

 I use our stuffed hedgehog Henrietta to choose students to share.  I pass the Henrietta around and the students hold her in their laps as they share.  (This really helps in the beginning when the students are a bit nervous.) After each share, I say THINK and the students put their heads down and think of a comment or question about the share.  The student who shared chooses two students to call on.  During this time we are working on eye contact and listening skills.  

We also say our class pledge and work some brain gym to We Are the Champions by Queen! 

I love to get them up and moving as much as possible.  Check them out below activating both sides of their brains and pledging to show courage!

We also review our ABC sounds and read our word wall at the end of every morning meeting.  Starting in January, I began having a student lead morning meeting.  At my school, we work on special goals for presenting like voice level and poise.  Morning Meeting is a perfect time for my kiddos to practice this! 

Grab some FREE information about our ENRICH goals and how my morning meeting leader is assessed by clicking HERE!

I am always amazed at how much we accomplish during this time! 

We then meet again up front for calendar time and also to focus on our word of the week.  Sometimes, like Mrs. Poling we will read a story that goes along with our word or we may do some role playing.  I like to mix it up a bit.  The cool thing is grades K-4 all have the same word of the week so we are all focusing on the same skill.  

You can check out more of my morning meeting ideas by clicking the picture below.  My Morning Meeting Manual will get you started on your way to a successful morning meeting!

You can also see how I lead morning meeting in a much tighter schedule at my old school.  Still one of my 2nd graders favorite parts of the day!  Just click my blog button below to get started!

Individual Behavior Plan For Our Fidgety Friends!

 Hello, teacher friends! This is Christina, from Miss DeCarbo's Sugar and Spice.  I wanted to pop in and show you a quick and easy idea for an individual behavior plan you can use in your classroom.  

Do you use individual behavior plans in your room? I use them when our classroom plan simply doesn't work for one of my firstie friends. Sometimes, I'm trying to calm an extreme behavior distraction to the class with an individual plan.  Other times, it's something minor that I know the little one can overcome with an extra plan of encouragement in place!

For today's purposes, I am sharing a plan I am using for a little one who is having a hard time staying on task during the day.  I use Class Dojo in my room, but this little friend needs something more concrete and something more tangible that he can see, touch, and manipulate instantly!

 I don't like anything that causes me a lot of "extra" time when it comes to classroom management. My classroom management motto is fast, effective, and fun!  This particular little one is SUPER fidgety.  They can't attend to something you are saying without moving their hands, feet, arms, and body.  Do you have those kids???  I know you do! I needed a behavior plan that wasn't abstract and was easy for ME to manage.

Here's what I did to try to get this little one to consciously think about and reflect on how he can make smarter choices during the day. 

All you need is 10 snapping cubes or unifix cubes (or, however many cubes you want the child to "earn")!  When the student is showing the POSITIVE behavior that you set for his or her goal, you hand him a unifix cube.  The child begins to form a "train" of cubes and snaps the cubes together as he collects more.

Are you thinking: "Ummmm....Christina, this is NOT anything new...!" 

You're right! It's not new, but I think that sometimes in this crazy world of Pinterest, we need reminded of the SIMPLE things we can do to make our classrooms sweeter and our lives easier!

"Why does it work if it's so simple?"

Because this friend of mine is a fidgety friend who can't attend to my directions without having something in his hands. We've been working on strategies to help him control his body and his fidgety hands when he is at the carpet or in an assembly, for example.

Collecting cubes for his individual behavior plan allows him to fidget and "play" with the cubes while he's listening. I realize that may be SUPER distracting for some teachers.  But I know he is learning and taking in what I'm saying because I have recognized this is his way of coping. He can pull the cubes apart and snap them back together quietly while he is listening.  Do you ever doodle while you are in a PD workshop but yet you are still listening to the speaker? Kids are no different! Moving his hands and playing with an object often helps our brain focus on the task at hand. Sometimes kids need to DO something they are listening to you! So....let them! :)

I keep the cubes on my desk to remind myself to pass them out to the student frequently throughout the day.  When my friend earns 10 cubes for his train, he gets to go to the treasure chest (This was a prize that he chose on his own.)!! :)

I hope this was an easy and fast little behavior tip for you to use in your classroom! Individual behavior plans are often a great tool for helping kiddos thrive in our classrooms!

Thanks for letting me share with you!

You can visit my blog throughout the week by clicking the picture below!

Birthday Bonanza!

Hi!  This is Autumn from The Primary Techie.  I am so excited to have joined The Primary Chalkboard.  This week is my birthday so I decided to celebrate with a birthday blog!  I must confess that I do not actually enjoy birthdays at school.  Have you ever had that 2:55-getting-ready-to-leave-"aren't-you-going-to-sing-me-happy-birthday" moment?  I know I have!  While birthdays are not my favorite thing, to my kiddos they are the most important day of the year.  My school day is not really about me, it's about them!  That means I put on my happy face and make the most of every birthday.

The Birthday Celebration
Many years ago, when I taught third grade, I had an "ah-ha moment" that changed the way I celebrate birthdays at school.  We had FIVE birthdays in one week.  Did every single one of them bring cupcakes?  You betcha!  Was it also the week of Valentine's?  Yup!  Did more kids bring in sugary treats for Valentine's Day?  You know it!  We were so sick of sweets!  A couple weeks later, another birthday and another two dozen cupcakes.  We were outside scarfing them down, when I noticed one of my little guys looking very bummed out.  I asked what was wrong.  He told me that he had never had cupcakes for his birthday and he never would.  The terrible part was, he was right!  This was a kid whose family had fallen upon hard times.  This was a kid who had a difficult home life and often went without.  This kid was not going to get cupcakes and that really bummed ME out!  So, I looked at the situation.  FIVE sets of cupcakes and NO cupcakes.  Ah-ha!  The teacher light bulb flashed over my head and the birthday celebration was born!

ONE day each month where everyone with a birthday is celebrated!  I choose the day!  I always tell parents and kids about this at the very beginning of the school year.  I post birthday celebrations on our classroom calendar (which the kids take home each night) and on my class Facebook group.  Parents coordinate it so that we don't have five sets of cupcakes, we have one set and juice boxes and carrots and strawberries and plates.  I have had several parents bring in a cake with the names of all the birthday kids.  One year, I had a kid literally hopping with excitement because he had never had his name on a cake before.  There are things that many kids take for granted that mean the world to others.  This is a way to even the playing field.

Here are the pros of monthly birthday celebrations:

• Everyone is included!  We even have a celebration for summer birthdays.
• I plan it!  Celebrations are always on a Friday and are built into my lesson plans.
• We get a variety of treats instead of perpetual cupcakes.

Here are the cons of monthly birthday celebrations:

• Some parents are not good at following directions!  If I get treats on a child's birthday (not the celebration day), I send them home.  Yep!  I am that firm!  It isn't fair to all the kids and parents who abide by the rules to let the ones who don't have treats.  This rarely ever happens because it is a part of our routine and I have lots of communication with families.  Those who send treats know they are breaking the rule.  
• Sometimes nobody brings anything.  When this happens, I bring a treat for the class.  It is important to me that all students are celebrated - even if that means I have to be the one to supply the treats.  

To remind parents about this class rule, I send home a little note at the beginning of the month.  They can sign-up to bring something or decline.  Click here to print your own notes.  

So on their real birthdays they get NOTHING?  Of course not!  We celebrate that too, just not with treats.  Here are some of the ways we celebrate actual birthdays:

1) Reading Birthday Books
Have you read about how I love scanning books?  If not, click here to check it out!  I am passionate about  reading books from my board - the ultimate big book!  I have a folder on my desktop called "Happy Birthday".  I keep all my digital birthday resources here.  In this folder, I have another folder filled with birthday books I have scanned.  I have thirty birthday books.  To easily track which books I have read, I named the files with numbers.  For example "1 - How do Dinosaurs Say Happy Birthday?"  All of my students are numbered and I read the book with their number.  If Abby Armstrong is number 1, on her birthday we are going to read How do Dinosaurs Say Happy Birthday.  I am not going to lie, scanning 30 books and creating digital versions of them takes time.  I put the time in several years ago and have been reaping the benefit ever since.  It is worth the initial investment of your time.  If you don't already own birthday books, look for digital versions and save yourself the hassle of scanning.  Before I realized the joys of reading from my board, I had bought entirely too many books.  I could not justify buying digital versions of books I already owned, so I started scanning.  I can't talk about scanning without mentioning that it is only okay to scan books for your own use.  You cannot share digital copies of your books, sell them, or post them on the internet.  This is a copyright violation.  I don't want to give you a bad idea that could get you into trouble!

2) Happy Birthday Handwriting
Oh man, do I ever HATE handwriting.  SO important, but SO boring!  Kids hate it, too.  BUT, they love making things for their friends.  I made some Happy Birthday handwriting sheets.  They trace the happy birthday song and turn it into a card to give to the birthday boy or girl.  It is good practice and the kids work extra hard because they want to do a nice job for their friend. These sheets are always a big hit in my classroom.  Click here to download a freebie! FYI - I predicted that I would get requests for d'nealian and cursive, so I included those options.

3)  Birthday Themed Behavior Management
Remember that birthday file on my desktop?  It also has some of my Classroom Management Life Savers with a birthday theme.  To read more about Classroom Management Life Savers, click here.  These keep the class on-track and they are extra-special when we have a birthday in the house!  I hope I am not including too many freebies in this post, but I actually love giving things away and if you have never tried my Classroom Management Life Savers, I want you to try them out.  Click here for a Birthday Puzzle.  

4)  Smells Like a Birthday!
This one is silly, but I really love it!  The sense of smell is very powerful to me and is attached to memories.  In my classroom, we melt a birthday cake scented wax cube from Scentsy only on a birthday!  All day long, it smells like birthday cake in our room.  It is a fun and easy tradition.  The kids actually notice and remind me if I forget.

5)  The Birthday Bag
I have several take-home bags for my kiddos.  One of the most popular is the birthday bag.  When a student has a birthday, they take the bag home for the night.  Inside, there are several birthday themed books and a little birthday stuffed animal.  To make the bag, I just took a plain tote and used fabric paint on the front.  On the back of my bags, I use fabric paint to write "Please enjoy this bag tonight and return it to school tomorrow."  There is also a journal for students to write about how they spent their big day.  When they return the bag the following day, they share their page with the class.  To make the journal I used a three-ring binder and clear page protectors.  In the pockets at the back of the binder, I put enough blank journal pages to last all year.  For copies of my journal pages, click here.

For more birthday ideas, visit my birthday board on Pinterest!

Make those days special for the kiddos in your classroom!  Check out these other birthday resources created by some of my very talented, Chalkie friends.

I am celebrating my birthday with a sale in my TpT store!  Stop on by to save 15% off of everything in my store!

Do you have any special ways to celebrate birthdays in your classroom?  Share them in the comments.  I would love to read them!

Until next time,

Advent Calendar - Day 9 Gifts and Grabs!

8. MORE. SCHOOL. DAYS!  But who's counting, right?

Nicole here, from Mrs. Rios Teaches, and it's my day to share some holiday cheer with you.  :)

I am going to come right out with it y'all.  Monday was rough!  The kids were just having a hard time focusing, and I saw so many behaviors that we had worked so hard to control, popping out all over the place.

But, then I talked to my teaching buddy from across the hall, and it was the same thing over there. Down the hall in Mrs. S' room?  Ditto!  It was unanimous!  We were all struggling with the "pre-Winter Break Wiggles."

So, I figured we may not be the only ones.  Below are two FREEBIES that I came up with to help my class stay on task, and off of Santa's Naughty List.

The first gift targets MOTIVATION!  It is a Classroom Behavior Poster!  I created these as a spin off of my Editable, Differentiated Behavior Cards (Winter/Christmas Theme).  I just have  a student color a box when, as a class, they are on task and working hard.   Use it to motivate your class to focus on your group goals! Motivate them to fill up the chart in order to earn privileges, treats, read alouds, class party, or let's face it...whatever it takes! I've made one Holiday-ish, and the other more Winter themed, so that everyone can find one that works for them! Click on the images below to download your classroom posters.

The second gift targets MOVEMENT!  The kids need an appropriate way to release their excitement, tension, nervousness, or whatever it is that makes it so hard for them to sit still, and focus, at this time of year. This pack contains easy activities that gets kids moving and working together!

So hopefully, those help you get through December, and for my Deal, I am already thinking ahead for January.  

So, I have one more goodie for you...an exclusive deal for you to grab! I have my favorite non-fiction pack, Polar Bear Plunge! on sale for 50% off, for today only! (Deal ends 9:00 p.m. PST 12/9/14)  Click on the image below to snag your copy!

Hang in there! And don't forget to check back tomorrow!

Nicole

Classroom Management Legos Style!

Hi all, my name is Emma Farrell and I blog over at Clever Classroom.  I am so excited because this is my first time blogging here at the Primary Chalkboard and the first time ever on a collaborative blog.  I sure am honored to be in such fine company.

I am here to share with you this exciting and very simple classroom management strategy I cooked up. I hope you find it useful. 

It's so simple to implement and your students will love it.

You will need:

1 x legos board

Colored lego rectangles or squares

That's it!

If you don't have legos, you could use any other construction toys you have like duplo or wooden blocks (the smaller ones).

Each table group (or any other group) will be allocated a color.  If you already use color names for your tables and they don't match your legos, just allocate colors that are close. 

When a table is working towards their goal, on task, helpful, display great manners, working in a team, in pairs or whatever your goal, a student places one piece of lego on the board and each time students add the same colored legos to their tower. 

The team with the highest legos tower is the winning table/group at the end of the day or week, depending on how you want to implement it. 

You can even add half bricks instead of a full brick, depending on what you are rewarding. 

It's ideal if you can outline your expectations and social skills at the beginning of the year to revisit them and have them as your success criteria. 

You could also create an anchor chart with your students about expectations of tables or table work.  Use  such frameworks us; students look like, sound like, have. 

Or students at tables; are, have, can, will. 

I hope this helps your classroom management program this year.

Font in images by Kimberly Geswein Fonts. 

Emma 

SitSpots, Math Facts Show Down, and Lines...OH MY!

      Okay, I have to be honest here- when I first heard about Sit Spots, I didn't think they would have any place in my 6th grade classroom. After all, my kids don't need to be reminded where to sit on the floor, and I didn't want them to be "toys". But, I decided to look at their product line anyways.

     As I browsed the Sit Spots shop looking at their line of products, I found these:

     You might asking yourself "WHAT ARE THOSE?"

     Just the COOLEST lines ever!!! These Sit Spot lines are vivid colors that the students can't miss. The custodian can vacuum over them, and they don't (at least they haven't YET) picked up dirt and mess. They have been down now for 20 days of school and they look brand spankin' new. My 6th grades tromp all over them.
     I placed these four lines where I needed the students to stay in place. Now, when we line up to go down the hall, the number of the day is told to line up on the red line. The other students line up behind. No more peeking in and out of the doorway, or goofing around. My 6th graders know exactly where to be!

     We also do activities at my SMART Board and before my lines, the students would tend to crowd the board. NOW, they don't because they have to stay behind the line or go to the end of it. ha ha. Works like a charm! Here are some examples:

     The blue and green ones that you see in the top picture are my Math Facts Show Down lines. We do math facts show down and that is where the two contenders must stand. For math facts show down, two students stand on the lines and I show them a math fact flash card. First one to say it get to the card and stays on my right (I stand facing the students). The non-winning student goes to the end of the line and the next student in line steps up to the green line. We do this until I run out of cards. The winner stays until he/she loses. At the end, the students count how many cards they have and we cheer!

     I can't tell you how much I love having these lines. I also got several other Sit Spots products that I will be using soon and will share how it goes with those as well.

Sit Spots offers a free sample to see if they will work in your room! WAHOO!
Click HERE to send for your free sample. Totally worth the time.

Thanks for stopping by-
John, Created by MrHughes

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