Words Their Way- New Teacher Survival Outline

Posted on September 11, 2012 by Squarehead Teachers

When I first started teaching, I was very overwhelmed with all the word study programs I was expected to run. Each week, we had 30 spelling words, 10 root-based vocab words and the Words Their Way program. Like all new teachers, I had to start small with each program to be able to do them all at once. So I made this small, very simple outline to get me started.

Words Their Way: WEEK OUTLINE

Monday– introduce

cut, name on chips

lay & say

sort

write down sort

Tuesday– lay & say

sort

write down sort

game: memory

Wednesday– lay & say

Sort

game: zoom around (each has 7, play same category until you can’t)

Thursday– lay & say

Sort

Game: Slap Jack (war)

Friday– lay & say

Sort as a review

Test (choose a few words and they must sort them by category as they spell them)

MIX UP GAMES AS DESIRED.

Reviewing Punctuation… The Fun Way

Posted on September 6, 2012 by Squarehead Teachers

From a 2nd grade teacher friend:

We are studying statements, commands, exclamations, and questions. I say a sentence. If it is a question they stand up and curve their arm over their head like a question mark. If it is a statement, they put their head on their desk like a period. If it is an exclamation they stand up straight with both hands over their head like an exclamation mark. My kids loved it!

Sending Home Papers & Getting Them Back: Boomerang Folders

Posted on September 6, 2012 by Squarehead Teachers

So you’ve heard of a boomerang, right? You throw it and it comes back to you. This is the basic idea of Boomerang Folders. You choose one day (or two days) a week and let parents know that the Boomerang Folder will be coming home. STICK WITH THAT SAME DAY OF THE WEEK (unless you notify parents ahead of time). Put all the important papers in that folder and send it home. The expectation is for the folder to come back (with certain signed papers, with a signature on a tracking sheet or whatever your system is). In order for this to work, it’s helpful to teach your class about boomerangs at the start of the year. The best thing is for each kid to have a chance throwing a boomerang. This has been successful in my third grade and second grade classrooms, so I hope it helps you too!

Remember, right click the image below. Choose “save image as” and save it to your computer. Then you can choose the size to print it and glue (or laminate) it to the front of your take-home folders.

Year-In-Review (Easy Writing Page)

Posted on September 5, 2012 by Squarehead Teachers

At the end of the year, it’s tempting to do activities that just fill time. Great teachers still use end-of-the year activities as a chance to teach thinking skills (like self-evaluating) and academic skills (like writing). This simple activity does both. (This form can also be used as an assignment to complete at home with the family as a review for a calendar year rather than an academic year).

Click here for the printable PDFs:
Year in Review form – blue paint splatter Year in Review form- Boys 1
Year in Review form- Girls 1 Year in Review form- kids 1

Come on Over! (Dance Instructions)

Posted on September 4, 2012 by Squarehead Teachers

So many teachers are intimidated by teaching dance or movement activities to their students. Here’s a pretty easy dance I came up with using simple movements most people already know or can pick up easily. The sequence repeats, giving kids a chance to learn it and progress throughout the song. Remember that it’s helpful to call out the actions ahead of time. I have listed the words you can day (C) and the actions you do (D). I’d suggest calling out the actions a few times by yourself before you try to teach it. Good luck and have fun!

SONG: Come On Over

ARTIST: Christina Aguilera

CHORUS/CONGA LINE COME ON OVER

Formation: Chorus Line/Conga Line Rhythm: 4/4

Position: hand in low V/hands on shoulders Measure: 8

Footwork: all start left Music: Come On Over (Christina Aguilera)

Grade Level: 5th/6th

INSTRUCTIONS

Grapevine– Step side L, cross R ft behind L, step side L, R ft touch next to L ft. Repeat grapevine to R. On second grapevine, place hands on shoulders of dancer in front of you in the conga line. On third grapevine, hands in low V. Repeat, switching hands each time.

Walk– Take 4 walking steps forward starting with L ft (LRLR). Walk back starts with L ft also.

Shoot– Similar to the two step. Start L to make the L unit. Step L ft diagonally left, R ft close to L ft, step L ft diagonally left. Repeat with R side for R unit. Hands in pointing the in the shape of pistols, doing same as feet.

Paddle– With weight on L ft, turn L 1 full turn as pushing R ft around at side to create momentum un 4 cts. Repeat R paddle.

Quarter Turn– Step L ft forward, touch R ft while turning to L, cross R ft over L, touch L foot. On repeat, formation becomes a conga line. On second repeat, formation changes back to chorus line.

MEAS CALL

Intro grapevine left do it now

1 (C) grapevine right do it now

(D) side behind side touch

2 (C) walk forward do it now

(D) side behind side touch

3 (C) shoot forward do it now

(D) walk walk walk walk

4 (C) walk back do it now

(D) step together step, step together step

5 (C) paddle left do it now

(D) walk, walk, walk, walk

6 (C) paddle right do it now

(D) paddle, paddle, paddle, paddle

7 (C) quarter turn do it now

(D) paddle, paddle, paddle, paddle

8 (C) grapevine left do it now

(D) step point, step point

Story Maps

Posted on September 4, 2012 by Squarehead Teachers

Story maps help kids learn summarizing, sequencing, and gobs of other reading skills. I used the fabulous old kids’ book, How Fletcher Was Watched, to teach my kids to use story maps.

You could teach sequencing by giving students cards with story events and asking them to put them in the correct order.

You could teach both skills together by having students create the event cards and then give the cards to a partner to put in the correct order.

It would be really easy to do this activity with events in history as a social studies activity also.

Here’s an example…

3D Snowflakes! (Easy Step-by-Step Directions)

Posted on September 4, 2012 by Squarehead Teachers

You’ve probably seen those really cool 3D snowflakes. Maybe you thought they looked really complicated. Not true!! Here are my simple, step-by-step directions: click here.

Lesson Plan: Inventions (& Airplanes)

Posted on September 4, 2012 by Squarehead Teachers

I took a phenomenal class about drama in the classroom. Here’s my lesson plan from the class. It’s about inventions and it’s geared towards upper grades. Enjoy!