Primary Chalkboard

Back to School: Getting to Know Your Students


Hi everyone! I am so excited to be a part of The Primary Chalkboard! This is such a wonderful group of teacher bloggers and I am so honored to be a part of it.

I know we all have Back to School on the brain, even though some of us don't actually go back for another month. August is always the beginning of the end of summer, which is actually crazy to say because I actually have almost half a summer left. You know what I mean though! We're thinking, we're creating, we're organizing, and yep, we're dreaming about it too. So why fight it? :)

Something that is so important to me is getting to know my students and making that connection with them. I always feel like once I've made that connection, everything else falls into place. So today I have two little ideas to share with you all about how you could get to know your students.

The first one I recently created. I have to admit, I made this as a parent. Yes, I always want to get to know my students, but now that I have one going into kindergarten, I have a whole new perspective. My son is a little shy but has a lot to say if you take the time to listen and get him comfortable. He's just not that kid that's going to be chatty right away.  I was thinking about how I hope his teacher takes the time to chat with him at recess or during down times because it would be a game changer for him. He would just blossom in class if he developed that relationship sooner rather than later. If only she knew to ask him about space, or swim lessons, or sea creatures, or dragonflies. So then it got me thinking... if I feel like this, maybe other parents do to. That is the inspiration for this first get-to-know-you idea.

It's just is a simple half-page that goes home with parents or that you can have out on desks during Meet the Teacher/Supply Night. It should only take them a second because they only have to write one(ish) word.  Parents will write something that their child loves to talk about. Anything that will get them chatty. You've probably seen it, right? The moment when you've finally said something that a quieter student wants to talk about.  They just light up. Simple, but hopefully effective. :)




The next thing is a little more generic, but it has been a staple in my classroom for all the years that I've been teaching. I finally took the time to redo it in PowerPoint and cutesify it with clip art and fonts. Oh my, the one I've used for almost a decade has (EEK) Comic Sans and no clip art. Not pretty my friends. Yikes! Don't worry, I've remedied that and it's ready to share with you all. I seriously use this throughout the WHOLE year.



I send this home on the first day for the parents to fill out. BUT it doesn't end there! 








How to do you get to know your students? I'd love to hear more ideas! :)




8 New Chalkboard Faces!!


This morning, one of our fabulous Chalkies posted about the very exciting Back to School Sale starting tomorrow at TPT.

BUT!!!!! There is something SO much more important and special to the bloggers of The Primary Chalkboard... and that is our new members. We just added 8 new members to our collaborative blog.
You may notice that some of these bloggers aren't K-2. That's right. We've expanded our blog range through sixth grade. We will still be bringing you tons of GREAT ideas on our blog with more of a range. 

Primary Chalkboard will now serve all K-6 elementary teachers! Because we love ALL of you.

On to the FUN part... let's meet our new friends. 













Did you HEAR the NEWS??!


Hi Friends....Thanks for stopping by the Primary Chalkboard today!

Did you hear the NEWS??!!  TPT is hosting their Back to School Sitewide Sale!!!  Woooohooo!



So are you ready to get on your Shoppin' Shoes???!!  If so, head on over to our Chalkie Stores to get your "shop" on!


Click on the Pictures to Visit our
TPT Stores!!!


                                            
    
                                       
      


                 

                     

                       

 

 

 


 


Thanks for stopping by!

Student Rewards - AWESOME Buttons

Hi everyone,

I'm Valerie from All Students Can SHINE and I am SO happy to be here!

My school has a SUPERHERO theme that we use during the year. I love this theme because the kids really get into it and we have lots of fun with it! Last year, we had some great discussions about what makes us a hero. We also shared our personal 'super powers'. It was a great way to encourage the kids to find something good in everyone!

I made these super cute buttons that I plan on handing out to my students when they do something OUTSTANDING. They will be able to wear it all day and show everyone just how AWESOME they are! 
What better way to share their good news with everyone!



Come read all about it on my blog and grab yourself a copy for FREE!

 All Students Can SHINE Blog