Keeping In Touch With Parents - 2 Easy Ways!

Hi everyone,

This is Valerie from All Students Can Shine.

I'm here to show you 2 amazing online resources that I use to communicate with parents during the year. When it comes to our students' parents, communication is key! The more you stay in contact with them, the better your relationship will be. That being said, I make sure to stay on contact with my parents regularly by sending them pictures (what parent doesn't like seeing pictures of their kids!) and sending them text messages on a regular basis. 

Let's take a look at the pictures first. 

I use a share site called Shutterfly. This website is completely FREE and EASY to use. You can create your own classroom share site in a matter of minutes!

Once your share site it up and running, you can start inviting parents to join the group. Your share site is password protected, which means that only those who are added by you can access it and view the pictures. 

My students' parents really appreciate this feature, for obvious reasons!

There are many different options on the share site. You can add your class list, schedule, your volunteer list, field trip information, etc. The best part is the pictures and videos section! You can easily upload pictures and videos in a matter of seconds. My students' parents really seemed to enjoy it last year. They left comments on their kids' pictures, just like they would on Facebook. It was lots of fun!

This is what the page looks like, before you add any information to it. Parents will only see the items that you add, just like a regular blog. 

Another AWESOME feature is the printing! Parents can view their child's pictures and order prints. How amazing is that?

You can sign up for Shutterfly HERE.

The other way that I stay in touch with parents is by text messaging. No, I do not share my personal phone number with everyone. Instead, I use REMIND. It is a fabulous way to send quick messages to everyone all at once! 

The best part? It is EASY and FREE!

Remind doesn't only work on your phone. They have a great app for phones, but you can also use it on the computer and send your messages from the website. 

There are SO many different ways to use Remind. I use it mostly to remind parents of upcoming events, such as picture day or field trips. I also like to let them know when we do something special in class. This way, they can ask their kids about it at dinner time. They like to get a heads up so they can have a conversation about it that night. For example, in a few weeks I will be sending a message like this one: "Hello parents! Want to know if a pumpkin sinks or floats? Ask your child tonight and you will find out!"

It's just a quick and fun way to get parents involved in their child's school life :)

Here is a list of 25 ways you can use Remind with your class:

Remind has just launched their new stamps feature. you can read all about HERE. 

You can also get ideas for using this tool effectively on their blog. 

They post regularly and give really great tips!

How do you stay in touch with your students' parents?

We'd love to hear your ideas so please leave us a comment below!

Later gators,

Valerie

Parent Conference Tips

Hi y'all! This is Casey from Second Grade Math Maniac. 
Most of us became teachers so that we could work with children. We perform in front of large groups daily, but get sweaty palms when we have to speak in front of people over the age of 12.  

Parent conference time can be really stressful as we attempt to communicate with other adults and not look like idiots. This is particularily true for beginning teachers. Now in year 5, I am still barely comfortable in conferences. However, I've learned a few tricks along the way to help things go more smoothly. 

 Sign Up Genius is a totally free site that I use to organize parent conferences, as well as volunteers and sometimes school meetings. 

I have learned that it is important to make notes ahead of time for every single student. I use the plus/delta system, nothing fancy. This helps me maintain control of the direction of the conversation for those tricky conferences. It also helps to honor to the time of everyone attending, no random tangents for this girl.

One of the most difficult parts of conferences is having parents say things you don't want to hear. As teachers we are constantly reflecting and beating ourselves up about how we can make things better for our students. We spend hours working on engaging lessons and the last thing we want to hear is how we can do more. In my case, my parents are being informed about my teaching methods by 7-8 year olds. This can be frustrating. In all tricky conversations with parents it is important to take a problem solving stance and at all cost avoid becoming defensive. Many times there is a root of truth to whatever the parent is sharing with you. Even if the problem is that the parent is overreacting, it is your job to diffuse the situation as much as you can rather than making it worse with defensive statements. 

You can download some helpful Parent Conference Printables here.

Teacher Free For All

Here at the Primary Chalkboard we want to be helpful. That’s just who we are. In the midst of creating for our students and selling on TpT, we often offer up amazing freebies.  Just in case you missed some of our freebies for September we are bringing them together here!
   Below are linked freebies. Some are downloads on Google Docs that can be found on our blogs and some are downloadable from TpT.  

Simply click the pictures below.

 

Enjoy and be sure to leave love through comments, feedback, and/or  follows if you download.

If you want a

30 more freebies

click my button below and go to the September Free For All post.

Fall into Reading!!

Head on over to my blog to check out my favorite fall books, and read about the activities that I do with my class, Also check out my fall themed reading comprehension packet. Your class will love it! They are great for close reading!

The Steps in a Guided Reading Lesson

Hello Chalkie Friends!!

My name is Jen Bengel from Out of This World Literacy. 

I am so stinking excited for my first official post as a blogging member of The Primary Chalkboard!!

Just a little about me:    

1. I have taught for 10 years: 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, literacy coach, and now a full-time home school mama!

2. I am currently in Uganda with my entire family preparing to adopt our 4th child!

3. I LOVE the beach, running, reading, and being silly :)

I look forward to sharing lots of teaching ideas with y'all!

So, let's get started!!

It is getting to be that time in the school year again where many of us are finishing assessing students and are ready to pull small groups for guided reading instruction. 

If you are like me, you may struggle with exactly what is the best way to use this important time with students.  Over the years, I have tried so many different approaches, using a variety of note taking forms and lesson plan formats. 

I have found that there are 6 steps that have worked best for me to follow a successful guided reading instruction, regardless of the students’ instructional levels.

Step 1: Introduction (2-3 minutes)

Step 2: Reading the Text (10 minutes)

Step 3: Talking About the Text (5 minutes)

Step 4; Teaching Objective (5 minutes)

Step 5: Word Work (3-4 minutes)

Step 6: Assessment Assignment (Optional and completed independently)

To read more details about the 6 steps in a guided reading lesson that I follow, simply click here to read them on my teaching blog.

Best of luck to you all who are just getting your guided reading groups going.  They are such a great way to differentiate instruction and reach students where they are so that we can move them forward in their learning!!

Jen Bengel

Visit my TpT Page

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Join me on my blog

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