Primary Chalkboard

Donors Choose... Choose YES

Hola, peeps!  Stacy here visiting from over at Funky Fresh Firsties with a quick post about Donors Choose.  Please tell me that you do Donors Choose projects in your classroom!  {pretty please}  If you said yes, congrats and you probably already know what great things can happen in your classroom b/c of the generosity of complete strangers!  If you haven't started yet...  out of fear of not knowing what to do, or what to ask for... or fear of how much time it will take...  well, have NO fear!  One of the first things I put in my store when I started this journey 2 years ago was a quick start guide to Donors Choose.  You can find it by clicking the picture below.
I hope that it will answer any questions you have, give you some pointers on getting funded quickly, and qualm any fears you might have.  Please feel free to stop by my Facebook page for more freebies, teacher humor, and ideas for primary teachers!  Hope y'all will have a great LONG holiday weekend!


Literacy K-2 with YouTube


Hi Everyone! 
I'm so excited to be posting for the Primary Chalkboard for the first time! I haven't started back at school yet, but I am already gathering supplies, lessons and ideas to keep those little ones busy and learning!

If you watched my video during our huge YouTube Party Giveaway a few weeks ago, then you'll know that I'm a big fan of using Symbaloo to keep myself organized! Today I'm sharing a post where I've listed my students' favorite literacy videos! 




I hope you'll hop over to Whimsy Workshop Teaching and check them out! I'd love to hear about your favorite online resources too!

Real World Math: Foreign Currency Conversion

Hey everybody!  My name is Terry from Terry's Teaching Tidbits.  I'm so excited to write my first post here at The Primary Chalkboard.

This morning, I will be waking up from a red eye to Dublin, Ireland.  I am so excited to spend a long weekend in the country of leprechauns and gold while I cheer on my alma mater, Penn State, in its football season opener against UCF.

Since I am across the Atlantic, I thought I would post about something international :)  I love teaching my students real world math scenarios, and traveling to a foreign country can truly test your mathematical skills.

I want to share an awesome blog post of mine on how to teach your students about foreign currency conversion and a fun freebie that you can use in your classroom.  Head on over to my blog to check it out!
I hope you like it!


Why Not Give Close Reads a Try This Year?

Hey guys! I am so excited to be posting today for Primary Chalkboard! I just started school a couple of weeks ago, and am teaching a new grade level, so I am super busy right now with so many different things. Sigh, summer, where did you go?!


One thing, though, I am not too busy for is to make sure I am implementing Close Reads in my classroom. I am actually teaching 6th grade ELA this year, but I am STILL Close Reading with my students. A while back I posted this tidbit about what to do when you finally decide to try Close Reads with your students, so I hope you will head on over to check it out on my blog, 2 Brainy Apples. I share some tips for getting started such as how often and when, what your students can read, how long does it take, questioning, and more! I would love to hear your experience with Close Reads, so please feel free to leave a comment!

Heather 
2 Brainy Apples


Helping Students Keep Their Desks and Materials Organized

Hi everyone!  Just popping by with a quick tip for Back to School.  I just finished my fourth week with my 2nd grade students, and we are chugging along.  Funny how I always forget how much work it is to start over every year, and teach 24 new students all of my expectations!



No, BTS is hard work….HAARRRRD WORK!

One of the things I really stress in my classroom is organization and responsibility.  Students know when I ask them to come down to the carpet, that I will only tell them ONE time what it is they need to bring with them. If they don't hear me, or don't pay attention (which is more often the case), they know they need to ask a friend or use their observation skills to figure it out on their own.  

My students are called down to our whole group area using a 50 second Mario Bros. song that I downloaded from Rick Morris' behavior management website (see link at end of post). If they are not down to the rug 1) sitting on their backside 2) criss-cross applesauce 3) eyes, ears, and mouth ready to learn, and 4) with all of the materials I asked for, they will turn their behavior card.  In my opinion, 50 second is more than enough time to get everything they need, and walk down to the rug….that is…IF, they are organized! 

Showing students exactly HOW to stay organized has been super helpful in reducing the number of students who arrive late to lessons, or who just can't find that paper you gave them yesterday.

So, in the beginning of the year we do a few big, guided, "clean up" sessions of our desks and materials, each week.  The first time I asked students to "clean and organize" their desks, many of them looked just like they did before we started cleaning.  Ugh!

Obviously, some of my little darlings simply did not know what "organized" meant, or looked like.  So, I started taking pictures of exemplary models using my phone.  I walk around while students organize 3 areas: 


1) their pencil boxes, 


2) their classroom folder


 and 3) the inside of their desks.  


After I take the pics, I show them to my students under my docucam.  HUGE difference!  Students work really hard at keeping themselves organized because they want to be the example I show to the class (and I let them pick a small treat before we go home).  

RESULT: Pencil boxes look tidy.  Class folders contain all their papers (and said papers are neatly placed inside).  Desks are orderly.  

Looking for more information on Classroom Management?

Read more about Rick Morris and musical transitions HERE.

Check out My Classroom Management board on Pinterest HERE.

Thanks for stopping by,

Nicole
Mrs. Rios Teaches


Pencil Management System

Howdy folks!  It's ME!  Mr. Greg from Smedley's Smorgasboard of Kindergarten!  People, I am so excited to be blogging on The Primary Chalkboard!  Seriously, I'm not worthy!

Today I'm sharing how I manage pencils in my kindergarten classroom.  It's a system that means I don't have to sharpen pencils during the week.  It saves me time (and saves me hand cramps!) and allows my kindergarteners to be responsible for their pencils and helps them solve problems!


Head over to my blog to see how we wrangle the pencils!   And share your pencil tips!


Back to School YouTube Party Winners Announcement!

All of us over at the Primary Chalkboard would like to thank everyone who participated in our super fun BTS You Tube Party and Giveaway!  We had a blast making those videos!  But most importantly, we sincerely hope you walked away with some great ideas and tips to help make this school year the best yet.

Ok, here is the fun part…..drum roll, please!  Time to announce the big winners!


Thanks again for playing, and keep checking back to see what is coming up on...