And..........
That's right! We are expecting a baby! He or she will be here in March. We are very excited! So, not only have we been crazy busy settling in, but I haven't felt well at all! So I never finished my blogs on the Daily 5!
However, I have started it in my classroom, and I can't wait to share my thoughts, successes, and failures so far:) For now, I am excited to be taking part in Mandy's very first Back to School Linky Party!
Today we are sharing first day lesson plans. The first day of school always FLIES by, and I never get to half of what I have planned. But, I figure it is better to over plan than not plan enough! Here is what I did this year.
7:10-8:00-When the students come in, I like to have something simple for them to do for morning work. A word search, or coloring page. I tell them to keep all their supplies with them at their table for now. We will unpack these later! I make sure everyone knows how they go home in the afternoon.
8:00-8:35-I usually start the day by reading a book. I usually read First Day Jitters. I think this is a pretty common one to read on the first day. Then, I have the students share whether or not they can relate to the character in the book. After we finish, we play some sort ice breaker game. This year, we all sat in a circle. I was holding the yarn. I told my name and one thing about myself. Then, I threw the yarn to another student. They shared one thing about themselves, and tossed the ball of yarn. we continued until everyone had received the yarn. It will look like a big web. we discussed how we are all unique because we all shared something special about ourselves, however, we are all connected. We are a learning family. If one person drops their yarn (I have a student model), then the whole group feels the consequences.
8:35-We discuss hallway procedures, and create a list of those. I have several students model the correct/incorrect way to line up.
8:45-we have specials at this time.
9:30-10:30-I used this time to unpack our supplies. I called one table at a time. We discussed the supplies that should go in their table baskets and where to keep pencils, crayons, etc. If they had hand sanitizer, tissues, paper, etc. I had them put it in the correct spot around the room. While I was calling students to put away supplies, I had the students work on this back to school booklet.
You can find it in my TPT store. Normally, it is $3.00. However, it is FREE for until tomorrow. I have one for 2nd grade and one for 3rd grade.
10:30-I bring the students to the carpet, and we review hallway procedures again. I introduce bathroom procedures. We create a chart of bathroom procedures. We also discuss cafeteria and lunch line procedures. 7:10-8:00-When the students come in, I like to have something simple for them to do for morning work. A word search, or coloring page. I tell them to keep all their supplies with them at their table for now. We will unpack these later! I make sure everyone knows how they go home in the afternoon.
8:00-8:35-I usually start the day by reading a book. I usually read First Day Jitters. I think this is a pretty common one to read on the first day. Then, I have the students share whether or not they can relate to the character in the book. After we finish, we play some sort ice breaker game. This year, we all sat in a circle. I was holding the yarn. I told my name and one thing about myself. Then, I threw the yarn to another student. They shared one thing about themselves, and tossed the ball of yarn. we continued until everyone had received the yarn. It will look like a big web. we discussed how we are all unique because we all shared something special about ourselves, however, we are all connected. We are a learning family. If one person drops their yarn (I have a student model), then the whole group feels the consequences.
8:35-We discuss hallway procedures, and create a list of those. I have several students model the correct/incorrect way to line up.
8:45-we have specials at this time.
9:30-10:30-I used this time to unpack our supplies. I called one table at a time. We discussed the supplies that should go in their table baskets and where to keep pencils, crayons, etc. If they had hand sanitizer, tissues, paper, etc. I had them put it in the correct spot around the room. While I was calling students to put away supplies, I had the students work on this back to school booklet.
You can find it in my TPT store. Normally, it is $3.00. However, it is FREE for until tomorrow. I have one for 2nd grade and one for 3rd grade.
10:40-we leave for lunch and stop at the restrooms.
10:45-lunch
11:15-go to the restrooms again after lunch
11:20-12:45-During this time, I introduce our classroom rules (which are school wide). I go over the five rules with each student. This year I tried something different with this. I paired students up, and gave each pair a card with a situation on it. They discussed whether the situation described was following our class rules or not. Then, we discussed each one as a class. I also introduce my behavior system at this time.
12:45-recess-I take time to show the students around the playgorund. We walk to each piece of equipment and talk about what they are/are not allowed to do on it (Ex: walking up the slide, hanging upside down on bars- both NO, NOs). We walk to the places that they are/are not allowed to be.
1:15-restrooms
1:20-2:00-We take time to review all the procedures from the day. I have students model. I also introduce morning procedures and we create an anchor chart. This way, the students know what to do when they come in tomorrow. I don't like to waste several days on the busy work type stuff that we do on the first day of school. So, I introduced the morning work page, and we did the first page together. Then, tomorrow, they know how to do the page when they come in. This year I am using Mandy's morning work packs. She has a set for August, and she just posted a set for September! They are working wonderfully so far! Finally, we discuss afternoon procedures, pack up, and make sure we are sitting quietly and ready for the craziness that is dismissal on the first day!
