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.
Somehow it got to be March already! How did that happen?
March includes plenty of activity, including Read Across America Day, St. Patrick's Day, the return of Daylight Saving Time, maple syrup season, and the first day of spring!
Every Monday, we have a special topic for our Morning Meeting Share. Every Monday we share 3 words about our weekend!
Believe it or not, it's harder for my second graders than it seems!
Some have trouble limiting it to 3 words. They try to sum up their weekend into phrases and sentences. (I wish they'd apply this skill in their writing and speaking!)
Some actually have trouble remembering their weekend! They really can't remember what they did for the last couple of days! I've had weekends like that where everything blended in together.
Then I have others who start planning their 3 words on Friday, and are all excited when it's sharing time!
Then there are others who are so interested in the 3 words others share they can't remember what they planned to say themselves. I admit, I've done that more than once.
One of the best benefits: It helps the children when it comes to note taking. It gives them practice choosing the important words and distinguishing them from those "little middle" words that aren't essential.
Example: "I went to Applebee's with my family. I had chicken." becomes"Applebees, family, chicken"
or
"I played in the snow with my sisters. We built a fort."
becomes "Snow, sisters, fort"
As the year goes on, they're getting better at it, and just in time! We're starting our big library research project!
Another advantage to this sharing?
It gives me lots of information about my students, and what is important in their lives. Plus, it doesn't take up a whole lot of class time!
Do you think Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow?
It's a tough call, but I'm thinking we might just have 6 more weeks of winter.
But even so, Groundhog Day is a fun day at the beginning of a dreary month to scramble up some fun excuses to learn!
Let's start with books! I'm a big fan of Gail Gibbons, and this one is perfect for groundhog learning. I love her books because she puts information in a way that's interesting and easy to understand for children.
What student doesn't think story problems are a little bit more when they have a fun theme! This is my plan for this week! It combines groundhogs AND Super Bowl themes!
It's very concerning when we work with little ones and we want them to be successful.
Although I'm not going to delve into politics, I'm sure you're aware that political changes here in the USA are pretty uncomfortable for many right now, and people are angry. Yes, BOTH sides of the political system are angry, and it's not helping our children.
How can we help them learn about kindness?
Well, here are three ideas!
There are tons of great books with the theme of kindness! I've linked some of my favorites below.
I have a special softness for Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch and The Invisible Boy.
Be sure to read the books and let the children have plenty of conversations.
Bring up the topic of kindness and let the children talk about how the characters showed kindness in the stories.
We know as educators that children are more likely to do what they see than what they're told to do. That means we need to let them see us showing respect and kindness to them, and the people they see us interact with. Let them see you performing little acts of kindness for children as well as adults!
Let them see you writing fun little notes for them and their classmates.
Let them see you leave a treat for the teacher next door.
Let them see you bring flowers to the nurse for Nurse's Day.
Let them see you go out of your way to tidy up to make things easier for the custodians.
Bring the whole class to the Library to sing Happy Birthday on the librarian's birthday.
I'm sure you can think of more examples of showing kindness, and I'm sure your students can think of plenty more!
When problems occur in the classroom, which we know happen often, be sure to address the group with the question, "How can we solve this problem with kindness?"
To help you out, I've got a Reader's Theater freebie that does exactly that! It's a little play for 4 people with a problem children can relate to. Here's the twist: after a discussion on how to solve the problem with kindness, the performers get to make up the ending!
One last thought: my singing group sang this song years ago, and it helps me deal with many difficult situations. Although this isn't my singing group, the song is just as beautiful.
Do you have kiddos that have so much to say they have trouble holding it in?
Isn't it tough to find class time to let them get out what they want to say!
So I decided to try Speed Chatting. It works sort of like speed dating, without the dating part.
I have the children make 2 circles. They partner off, and get a couple of minutes to talk! Then one of the circles shifts, and they have a new partner for chatting. They'll shift a few more times until they've had a several chances to talk.
Sometimes I give them a topic, and sometimes I let them choose whatever they want to talk about.
Topics could be:
Tell about the book you're reading.
Why do we need to regroup to subtract?
What did you do this weekend?
Talk about your favorite thing to do.
Tell what you know about _________.
Tell about a place you'd love to visit someday.
What pet do you wish you could have?
If you had plenty of money, what would you buy?
What is your favorite subject in school?
What do you wish you could have for homework?
What do you like to do after school?
What makes someone a good friend?
What is something you wish more people knew about you?
I'm sure you can think of plenty more!
Right after the holidays, the kiddos were busting at the seams, wanting to tell about their vacations, staying up until midnight on New Year's Eve, and their new toys.
We did Speed Chatting. We had to... there was no option, they were going to talk about their vacations no matter what. They needed to get it out. Either they'd be sneaking it in all day, or I'd let them get it out of their systems first thing in the morning.
I chose to put Speed Chatting into Morning Meeting that day.
Then they were ready to get back to work!
Honestly, I don't think kids get enough time to speak their minds these days. We're incredibly busy between testing as well as teaching an overloaded curriculum. This is a nice way to get them talking without missing much class time.
If you are already on vacation, congratulations for surviving! If you're still going, like I am, you'll be needing something extra special to keep those restless, overtired children engaged!
The children had a great time creating face warmers for Santa!
And designing workshops for elves!
Every student was engaged, plus there was learning going on! Their reflections really showed they were learning about the Engineering Process, as well as learning to work as part of a team. I was proud of their achievements!
There's a lot going on this coming week. (Yes, we go through Friday afternoon at 3:30!) I'll be pulling out all the stops with some of my favorite holiday activities.
We'll be painting, illustrating, and reading some of my favorite holiday stories. We'll also bring in a little Science and Social Studies with this resource: Science and Social Studies Activities for December.
They'll be reading informational text about the North Pole and about the Aurora Borealis, practicing their mapping skills with a map of the North Pole, sorting Christmas scents, and learning about laws by sorting elf laws.
Besides all this fun, I'll be pulled out of class on Thursday for an IEP meeting, so I'll be assigning some of the pages from this resource: Holiday No Prep Activities.
I can be sure the children will be getting fun practice on important reading, writing, and math skills with these!
If all else fails, it's time to pull out the glitter! (Yes, I plan to!)
Of course, I hate to leave for vacation without being ready for that first week back! Here are a couple of resources I'll be pulling out at the beginning of January!
