I hope everyone is having a great week!! I know some of you might had already started teaching your kiddos and some of you are getting really close to the first day of school! Whatever your case is, I hope you are doing JUST FINE! :)
I would like to talk about Classroom Management and a unit that you can use on the first week of school year. Also I wanted to share with you all a Free HW Pass Freebies I have in my store! :)
Classroom Management
I am sure most of you already have a system or your school lets you know what procedures are needed to take for classroom management. In my case, I have been trained and I was required to use CHAMPS. I honestly did not really know what to do with it, except using the things my school already provided for me to use. However, one day I had a teacher asking me if I could make some posters for her in the Dual Program. So I thought "Duh! of course I could use these and place them all around my classroom!"
So I created 5 CHAMPS POSTERS in both English and Spanish. Then, I had a request on my TPT to add one for writing and/or independent practice, but leaving it blank, so I added that!
So the final product comes with 7 CHAMPS posters (Centers, Group Work, Line, Class, Carpet Time, and 2 blank posters with students are their desk working). About the Blank Posters: Google docs do not have a portrait option, so be aware that the editable document is in a landscape position. Please see the instructions in the beginning of the document to edit the document. One poster contains a student at a desk (can be used for tests or independent work) and the second poster contains two students working at their desk (can be used for reading/writing time). PLEASE know that you cannot edit the fancy/big font or the clip art due to copyrights.
Click HERE if you would like to check it out :)
This same school district was very strong about implementing CHAMPS, so after a year of using it, I came up with an interactive bulletin board in my classroom. I created this for a foam board, but you can honestly just put some magnets on the back and have it up on your dry-erase board.
At the beginning of the school year (maybe the first 3/4 months), I was mainly the one who used this board. We would use this board ALL THE TIME. For every activity, including: independent practice (I would just say independent practice and clarify with my students what kind of independent practice we are working on. In that way, we are not having illustrations for every specific activity), cooperative groups, carpet time, centers, and tests. However, after those months I would start choosing students to do it and the rest of the class would participate on answering what was expected. When they realized I started asking students, they all wanted to be "the teacher." I didn't expect them to want that since they were in third grade, but they just loved it!!
At the beginning of the school year (maybe the first 3/4 months), I was mainly the one who used this board. We would use this board ALL THE TIME. For every activity, including: independent practice (I would just say independent practice and clarify with my students what kind of independent practice we are working on. In that way, we are not having illustrations for every specific activity), cooperative groups, carpet time, centers, and tests. However, after those months I would start choosing students to do it and the rest of the class would participate on answering what was expected. When they realized I started asking students, they all wanted to be "the teacher." I didn't expect them to want that since they were in third grade, but they just loved it!!
Alright, this board works like this:
I would go letter by letter "C is for conversation (I would expect the students to answer after months of doing this)" Then I would say "What voice level are we on? Level 1 (Expect students to answer). Then I would say, show me what level 1 sound like (this level is whispering so students would start whispering to me). Then I would go letter by letter until we finish the word CHAMPS.
If you would like a copy of this, please click HERE to take you to my store. The only items that this product doesn't contained is the border that I used to decorate the foam board and the foam board. On the product, I included more pictures of how the board looks like and the illustrations come with labels so you know what they are used for. I also included a video on how to use the board, if you are more of a visual person like I am :)
I have created with 56 pages of fun and great activities! This unit comes with different activities that can be done in groups or whole class; some other activities can be done in partners or centers. These are all simple and fun; just perfect for the first week of school!
The best part?! Like all of my products, it comes in English and Spanish!!!
1. I created this made-up story about a kid named Jack, who just moved to a new town called Mustacheville. This kid has a mustache and feels left out by the other kids because he's different (he has a purple mustache). However, the story changes when he meets someone else, someone who is also different than the other kids!This story comes with a foldable to write the B, M, and E of the story. It also comes with a foldable to compare and contrast the main two characters in the story.
2. Then, I added some ice breaker cards! I usually play some music and when it stops, students grab the first person near them to partner up. I included specific instructions on how to do this activity. They use their ice breaker card and then report it on an activity sheet.
3. What more fun than Bingo? An ice breaker Bingo! You can have students in small groups or as a whole class!
4. I also included a writing activity! Students would interview a partner with a Question sheet (it includes 20 different questions) and they can include their own question too! Then they would make this fun poster/Foldable! Don't forget to take a picture with a mustache for your activity!
And this is what's in the inside. They will compare an contrast themselves with their new friend!
5. Time for some I have, who has... Game!! Simple addition facts for your class!
6. Last, but not least. I included some addition word problems. This might be a little challenging for the first week. However, I included both low and high level word problems! So you get to choose which level fits best for your class on the first week of school! It comes with an answer sheet and a sheet for them to show their strategy. Every level comes with 10 cards. I figured this is too much for the first week of school, so on the instructions, I said for them to pick three cards and work in partners! But remember you can always change the rules if you think your class is ready for some more :)I hope you have found something useful for your class on this post :)
If you have some time, I'd love to hear from you! Please feel free to leave me a comment, I love hearing from my readers!
