Elementary Matters is an educational blog focused on Elementary grades 1-3. These posts will make an elementary teacher's life easier by sharing information about how the brain learns best. It includes time savers, suggestions for classroom management, hints on effective teaching of reading, writing, and math, and several ideas for squeezing Science and Social Studies into daily instruction. These posts include links to several videos, articles, resources, and plenty of free materials.
25 Alternatives to Handshakes
Here they are:
Back to School Success Strategies Part 1: Establish Routines!
It's getting closer to that time again.
No matter where you are in your summer vacation, getting back is in your future. This series of posts is designed to make that return a bit smoother for you.
Establish Routines!
Establishing routines make children feel safe. It takes the "guesswork" out of each day when students know what to expect and what is expected from them. It makes children (and adults) feel secure when they know what is going to happen.
I like to start each day with a morning meeting. I typically have a question for discussion that's based on that day. These Morning Meeting Greeting Activities and Calendar Writing Prompts are perfect for displaying whether you're having a morning meeting in the classroom or virtually.
Each month comes with daily pictures/ prompts for display, plus matching text for writing answers.This is a great routine that could be started every morning in the classroom. They could also be discussed, then given as a written assignment as well.
Math facts are an important part of the math routine, as research tells us these should be practiced a little bit each day. I swear by this system, which gives the students a small amount of fact families at a time to master. It's very easy to differentiate, as they can move to the next level as soon as they show mastery. Plus, there's a digital component for practice and/ or assessment! Math Fact Fluency Systems for Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, and Division Fact Fluency.
Here are a couple more resources to help you get started on some important beginning-of-the-year routines:
These are perfect for learning and spelling sight words: Research Based Sight Word and Spelling Activity Cards.
Research tells us that sight words are best practiced in phrases. I've used these Warm-up Phrases as a warm up to my reading groups for years! It's great for building fluency! The first in the series is free: Dolch Warm-up Phrases: Pre-primer Level.
Be sure to read the other four parts of these Back to School Success Strategies!
I imagine you're thinking of more routines that will be important.
I hope you'll share some of these in the comments below.
Inspire Your Girls (and Boys, Too!)
March is Women's History Month!
- A is for Awesome: 23 Iconic Women Who Changed the World
- Herstory: 50 Women and Girls Who Shook Up the World
- She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World
- Shaking Things Up: 14 Young Women Who Changed the World
- Bold and Brave: Ten Heroes Who Wom Women the Right to Vote
- The Book of Gutsy Women: Favorite Stories of Courage and Resilience