Back to School Getting to Know You Activities

Building a strong classroom community is vital at the start of the year. But, how can we be sure to include those students who view public speaking as torture? If the goal is to get students more comfortable with one another and their new classroom, it is counterproductive to force students into scenarios that make their skin crawl. What are some ways we can get the students mingling without placing a huge spotlight on individuals?

Below are some ways you can “break the ice” without breaking your students.

Line-up

This task works on ice breaking without anyone speaking. I line the students up randomly and tell them they need to get in a specific order without speaking a word. We brainstorm some ways that they can communicate without using spoken words. There are many variations to this, but my favorites are lining them up from tallest to oldest, by birth dates, or ABC order by their names or favorite cartoon character. I have printed number and alphabet cards to also use as tools to have them put themselves in order. Playing cards work just as well. This is a great way to see how they can communicate without words.

Rock, Paper, Scissors War

This game is low stress and always brings smiles to any room. The students start playing with friends that they are comfortable and as they win the group gets smaller. The others that haven’t advanced sit back and watch the war progress. The last one standing is the winner. Getting them moving helps make those first days go faster for everyone!

Many of the icebreakers that students dread are the ones when they have to go around asking each other questions. These tasks do get them moving, speaking and listening, and learning names, but how about some other ways to learn each other’s names?

All About Me Creations

Name tags, cubes, collages, and a variety of shape templates can be a perfect canvas for everyone to express themselves. Some may want to present their creative products, but others will be fine displaying them for others to read from a bulletin board or table. 

Name Tags

Creatively drawing their name is a great way to start this project. I have encouraged the students to add 5 number sentences that help describe them. For example maybe the student has 4 siblings. The student would write an equation that 4 is the answer (100-96= 4) This is a nice way to incorporate math and they differentiate on their own by the math operations and equations they choose to use.

Paper Collages

I have the students create their names as well as 5 details about them. But they can’t draw them with any writing tools. All of the shapes and words must be cut or torn out of colorful construction paper. I have the students glue their shapes onto black paper so the colors of their collage pop. These collages are a great way to decorate the room for the year as well. It helps the kids have ownership in their new classroom when they are helping to decorate it!

Class Word Puzzle

I create a puzzle with all of the students’ names. This is a quiet morning warm-up that gets the students knowing the names of their new classmates. It can be done on their own or in a small group.  

Here's an easy to use website:
Discover Education's Puzzlemaker: Word Search

Name Bingo

Another way to familiarize others with the names is Bingo!. You can create a blank template that the student choose names from a word bank to add to their board. The teacher then randomly picks the names and the students cross off their matches on their boards. The winner can be challenged to identify the students on the winning board for an extra prize. 

Any task that helps build classroom community also helps you learn about the kids in your classroom - icebreakers aren’t just for the kids! They are great to see the personalities come through and how they will all fit together. 

STEM Challenges 

I love to give the students simple materials and challenge them to create something new. We have created tall towers of index cards, straws, marshmallows and toothpicks and the kids have loved every minute of it. Make sure to create explicit expectations and let them create. Throw a little math into it at the end while they measure their towers and graph the class results.

One easy challenge is to ask students to create a STEM project that demonstrates a rule for the classroom. Student creations are a great way to give a visual to the expectations!  

I used this FREEBIE from Teachers Are Terrific:
STEM Challenge Back to School Rules FREEBIE

STEM Prep:
I used random craft supplies that were laying around in a cabinet.

Raise Your Hand for Permission to Speak

Movement Makers

Kids on that first week want nothing but to get outside and enjoy the sunshine they are missing. Why not grab some plastic spoons and ping pong balls and make a class relay race. Beach Balls from the Dollar Store also make for a great relay challenge between the boys and girls of your class. All the learning doesn’t have to happen in the classroom. Human Chain is a fun cooperative game that doesn’t require any props. The students form a small circle of 5-6 and connect hands with different peers across the circle without letting go of the hands the students must untangle themselves. 

The first few weeks are so important in the success of the entire year. I firmly agree that putting the time in early on these foundations pay off big rewards later on! Make sure you are thinking of every kind of kid you might have in your classroom. Not every kid enjoys putting themselves out there. But having a variety of opportunities will help make those first days memorable and wanting them to come back for more!

You may also be interested in these other blogs to get your year started!

Back to Basics in an Elementary Classroom

Reading Response Journals

How to Host a Book Tasting in an Elementary Classroom

Friendly Letter Writing in an Elementary Classroom: Friday Family Letters

Easy Back to School With Picture Books

Co-Teaching Strategies

In a perfect world your co-teacher would be in your classroom the whole day! Wouldn’t it be amazing for the teachers and the students to have two teachers sharing the load from the moment the students walk in to the moment they walk out? In some districts, co-teaching is used only during ELA and math; but we know that learning disabilities don’t put on the brakes when science or social studies begins. And, there are some scenarios in which a general educator is working with two different special educators!

Special education teachers who take on the role of a co-teacher have to wear many hats throughout the day and it oftentimes involves teaching in other classrooms. The co-teachers that I know have so many other classrooms they service that my classroom is just one more stop in their busy day. They give all they can when they are there but they are only human! We have had to be very creative in how we make this work for both of us (and the students). Here are some things to try if your team is short on time and patience with the co-teaching life!

PLANNING

Set up one day a week to plan. Choose a time and place that can be consistent and stick to it. Choosing a time before or after school helps to not congest the already busy day. Also, choosing a planning time outside of the scheduled day helps alleviate rushing if the regularly scheduled planning period is coming to an end. 

If your co-teacher doesn’t have the time for planning before or after school, digital planning is the next plan of attack. In the past we have set up a shared folder in Google Drive (with a variety of docs, slides, etc…) that can be worked on collaboratively from home or when there is free time. This allows both parties to be involved in the planning process, but they don’t have to be present at the same time and place. This format also provides for a written history of your year that can be used for future reflection and planning.

DISCIPLINE

Co-teaching can be tricky when it comes to discipline. The two teachers have to be on the same page for behavior and management expectations. This also comes with being comfortable with each other as co-teachers. Creating a solid classroom behavior system makes it easier for both teachers to keep the expectations clear for the students. At the start of the year, include your co-teacher in the process of designing and introducing the classroom expectations. Students need to see that both teachers are on the same page. Each teacher will have their personal level of patience, but the way the students are handled needs to be consistent. Consistency will allow the students to respect the teachers as equals as well. It is fine to play good cop - bad cop with situations, but make sure that the roles switch because the good cop teacher will be viewed differently by the students.

GRADING

It is amazing when your co-teacher takes on some of the grading of homework and assessments. I have always had co-teachers that wanted to be involved in the students’ progress and seeing the assessments first hand allowed them to be. When co-teachers don’t share everything, expect there to be stress in the co-teaching relationship.

In the purest form of co-teaching, the general educator and the special educator are equally responsible for every student in the class. The mindset of “my kids” “your kids” needs to be discarded. Special educators should be grading the entire stack of assessments, not just the “sped kids’ papers”. Yes, special educators (in collaboration with the general educator) will need to assess and inform regarding a student’s IEP goals, but that should not be done in a vacuum.

To avoid a “my kids” “your kids” mentality, make very clear expectations of what each teacher will be responsible for and split it from the beginning. This obviously can be modified as the year goes on, but don’t assume that the co-teacher knows what you expect. Again, using a cloud-based system of recording assessments helps share the information in real time and allows for flexibility in who is grading which assessments. Plus, if everything is kept in one place, it helps speed up the process when annual reviews come around.

TEACHING/PRE-TEACHING/RE-TEACHING

Co-teaching provides an amazing opportunity for pre-teaching and re-teaching to occur. The concepts and vocabulary can be pre-taught to everyone (or certain students in need) so when the introduction of a unit occurs, the new information is able to be connected to prior learning. Having two teachers to split up the teaching is valuable as well. Just as no two students learn the same, no two teachers teach the same. It is great for students to be able to hear information through different approaches and multiple times.

In closing, being in a co-teaching relationship can be amazing for everyone involved. But it doesn’t come without frustration or trying a million things before it feels right. Don’t give up on it right away. And, don’t be afraid to scrap what isn’t working and try something new. Use your creativity to find the right blend that works for everyone involved. It takes a few years to build the trust between teachers so that everything flows without a hitch. In the end, co-teaching is amazing and the kids will love having two teachers that can love and support them on different levels.

End of the Year Behavior Management

When it comes to classroom management, routine consistency is the key. Seasoned teachers know that when time is invested early on in classroom routines, the success will carry through the rest of the year. But by the time May comes along the necessity turns to novelty. Even though the normal schedules get interrupted by assessments and play days - the students still crave structure. Here are a few ways to make school fun while still keeping them under control!

Voice Levels Board

This simple hand-made poster can be made on poster board or on a Google slide. It creates a visual for the students to self monitor their noise in a fun way. Every student wants to keep working with a buddy as long as they use a “Spy” voice. As the year goes on their classroom talking voices increase. This poster is a great way to keep them thinking about their inside voice!

WOW Board

Another simple hand-made poster that I laminate for longevity: I create a grid with letter/number coordinates. Throughout the day, I put their initials on the squares (in dry erase marker) to reward them for good behavior and academic excellence. At the end of the day, I randomly pick 2-4 squares and they receive a candy pick. The students love to get as many squares with their names on them as they can.

Compliment Stars

Hallway behavior is another thing that goes down the drain as summer approaches! I award stars to the students that receive compliments from other teachers/staff members or even other students for their hallway behavior. I put the stars on the board when we receive them. Once we receive 10 stars they get a class reward. I usually choose things that don’t cost me too much time or money. Their favorite is having lunch bunch in the classroom. Another variation of this is earning fuzzies in a jar. The more they earn the bigger the prize!

Class Dojo

Class Dojo is an app that you can download for free. When you upload your student names into the app, each student receives a monster avatar. The teacher can assign points to different behaviors or actions. There is an option on the app that allows for it to randomly choose a student. If that student is following the classroom expectation, they earn the point. If not, the teacher randomly picks another student. Each Friday, I give each student the points that they earned in real paper Dojo cash. I have also created a paper menu that has rewards that the students can purchase when they earn their dojo points and dollars.

I love using Class Dojo! You can read about my experience with this app here:

How to Create the Best Home/School Connection with Just One App!

You can find materials to support a Dojo classroom here:

Fourth and Fritcher 3-in-1 Mega Pack Bundle

Reminder Anchor Chart

Sometimes you need to have a chit-chat with your class. In the past I have gone over the rules in-depth and created an anchor chart to help them remember the expectations.

You can read about this process here:

Refocusing For the Rest of the Year

Reminder Anchor Chart

Every teacher as time goes on creates a “tool box” of management techniques that work for them. But having a May/June arsenal is a must for surviving the last 2 months of every school year! Good luck - the end is very near!!!

End of the Year Tasks in an Elementary Classroom

It’s that time of year to start thinking about what worked this year and what we can do to improve next year. I’ve had a lot of “end of year” school years. Throughout that time, I’ve learned a few tricks to help make the start of next year a little bit smoother.

1. Copies for the Fall

I start going through all the activities and original copies that I used for the year. Then I make a list of all things that I want to use again. This list works as a rough draft for plans but also a check off list for my printing assignments. Our district uses digital printing so I can upload the PDFs for the copies I want printed. I know I will add and supplement with new activities, but I like to send all of my copies for September and October before the school year ends. I set the copies due date for the first week of June so I can check it off my list and store it for the summer. It will be one less thing I need to do as I prep my room for the new students coming in!

2. Packing

Each year we have to take everything off our walls and pack up as much as we can so they can move out all of our furniture to wax our floors. This year we have to move our classroom to another building so we have to do “real” packing. But I use the same process either way!

As a team we make a label sheet on standard copy paper that has my name, room number, and a place for a box number. We send this to printing and request about 100 copies for each of us. Each teacher has a designated paper color for his/her sign. It’s a quick way to differentiate which box belongs to which teacher. With a complete move (including the furniture), everything gets a label sheet and number: chairs, tables, bookcases...everything.

As I start packing, I tape the label sheet on the box and number it. I also create a spreadsheet that will tell me which box has which items inside. When I unpack later, the spreadsheet will help me know which boxes contain what. I use the spreadsheet to determine which boxes to unpack and where. I also use the chart to organize the order I unpack boxes. For instance, I’ll put all construction paper-containing boxes near the cupboard where I will store construction paper. I might just move them there during the initial sorting phase and empty them out at a later time. As I empty boxes, I check them off my spreadsheet. The spreadsheet also helps me realize if a box or group of boxes doesn’t make it to its new destination.

Label Your Boxes: Name, School, Room #, and Box Number

3. Bulletin Boards

Most years we can keep our bulletin boards up as long as we cover them. We hope that the summer staff doesn’t get anything wet and most times we are good. But if you have to take them down each year here is a quick idea to keep all of your bulletin board materials together.

I usually spent a lot of time layering and mix and matching different borders. To save time later on, I keep the materials together to replicate it for the next year. I dismantle a bulletin board one at a time. I take all the staples out so they are ready to go in the fall. I roll up the borders in a rosette shape. As soon as all of that bulletin board stuff is rolled up, I use a large binder clip to hold it all together. Then, I also label which bulletin board it belongs to. This way in the fall you just have to put up new paper and your borders are matched and measured for easy assembly.

In the past we have used plastic dollar store table cloths or fabric for the backing of the bulletin board. But some years the district has given us issues over them being a fire hazard. So I found a better solution! I found rolls of white wrapping paper at the dollar store. This works great and matches any color combination that you use to decorate.

4. Planning Spreadsheet

My fourth grade team has created a google sheet to lay out our content literacy and standards plan of attack. This is powerful when you see what articles and books you are using for each lesson. It demonstrates where you have gaps and where you need to incorporate different lessons for different standards. This also leads my team to the discussion about spiraling curriculum. We want the students to work towards deeper learning over mastery. The more exposures and applications students have to standards and skills, the deeper the learning will be. It is even more powerful when we are hitting those areas in Social Studies and Science!

The NYS standards (NYS Next Generation Standards) have been revised to combine the old literature and informational standards. So, instead of keeping track of 2 sets of reading standards, it has been condensed into one!

These are some simple things that will help you think about how you will wrap up your school year while still preparing for the start of the next. As we get more experienced as teachers, we learn a few tricks that make us say, “Why didn’t I think of this sooner?”

How to Host a Book Tasting in an Elementary Classroom

Does it seem like your students are choosing the same books for independent reading over and over again? It's no secret that students choose books they are familiar with or have read before; and there is merit in reading a book more than once. But, I was looking for a way to break up the monotony. Then, I stumbled across Book Tasting.

Book Tasting! It sounded like such fun. But, as I started to explore the facets to this fun, my head began to spin. I decided to scale it down a bit and provide my students the "basics". My goal was to keep as much of the fun as I could, but to also experience an easy set up and easy clean up.

The following is how I run Book Tasting in my classroom...

You Will Need:  

• Dollar Store plastic tablecloths for each table (if you want to be really fancy, get the red and white picnic table-themed covers)
• Placemats (I print mine on cardstock)
• Genre Placards (for each section/table)
• Student Trifold (copy one for each student, and a few extra)
• 12-15 books of each genre/category (our librarian was a huge help with this!)

To Set Up:

• Place plenty of placemats at each table. You need at least one placemat per student but it's even better if you can set a couple extra out. The extra place settings will give the students a larger sense of choice as they approach the table for their turn at the genre/category.
• Place one book on each placemat. As each student sits at the table they will have one book already in front of them when their time begins.
• Place additional books in the center of the table.

To Book Taste:

• Explain to students about how to book taste. Look at the cover (front and back), the spine, read any text on the covers, flip through the pages, notice any illustrations. Finally, sample a bit of the author's writing. If students have tried a decent-sized sample and the book still isn't interesting to them, that's when it would be time to switch the book.
• Set a timer. Let students know they will have X-amount of time to explore the books at that table. 
• When the timer has about one minute to go, have students make their final selection and write down the book information in a trifold. Most vital are the title and author. But, they can also note the genre, number of pages, and what they like about the book. The trifold will become a reference point for them in the future. When they look back on what they wrote a month (or two or three) ago the notes will help them remember the book.

I use different genres each time. If I have more than one book tasting in a school year, I try to have different genres compared to the previous book tasting.

Book tasting this year involved all 3 fourth grade classrooms in my building. We divided up the genres so each classroom offered something different. We moved kids through the rooms according to homeroom. While visiting each room, students had designated time at each genre/category.

We had plastic tablecloths decorating each table to bring color and novelty to the rooms. We also copied the placemats and placards in a variety of colors to catch the students’ eyes. We had enough time for students to rotate through two of the three classrooms. There was a bit of grumbling when they mathematically figured out that they would not be visiting one of the three rooms!

Each placemat had one book ready to go. Students chose a place to sit. Once the "round" began, students could sample the book in front of them or they could swap it with a book in the middle of the table. Toward the end of their time at that table, students used their trifold to record basic book information.

Overall students were able to book taste at least 5 different genres. Books remained available for a short time afterward in case students wanted to peruse a genre they didn't get to during the tasting.

Sign up and receive your own set of Book Tasting Resources for FREE.

Free Book Tasting Trifolds and Placemat!

Weeks later, I still see student trifolds inside reading folders and binders. Some students keep them nearby for their next trip to the library. Book tasting gives students an opportunity to look at and consider books they might never explore independently. One of the most common revelations during book tasting relates back to the adage "don't judge a book by its cover"!

Other Blog Posts You May Be Interested In:

• Ways to Use Reading Response Graphic Organizers in Your Classroom (includes a free set of organizers)
• Easy Back to School with Picture Books
• Best Character Analysis Strategies for Your Elementary Classroom
• Best Vocabulary Strategies for Your Elementary Classroom
• Best Comprehension Strategies for Your Elementary Classroom

The Flat Stanley Project Meets New Yorkie

I was always envious of the primary teachers who took their students on virtual adventures with Flat Stanley. I loved seeing the memorabilia and letters that would teach the students about places around the world.

Being a 4th grade teacher, I knew that most of my students weren’t reading Flat Stanley anymore, so one day I decided to create a project that was just right for my fourth graders. In New York our Social Studies curriculum is centered around the geography and history of our state. So, instead of a Flat Stanley, we were going to send out some New Yorkies!

New Yorkie was going to be our classroom mascot for learning. This project was going to encompass many areas of learning and it was going to start with a simple letter to a friend or family member.

STEP 1: PRINT OUT YOUR CLASS MASCOT

• Print enough mascots for your entire class (and a few extra). I found an adorable Yorkie clip art through Google Image search. Find a mascot you like, copy and paste the image onto a PPT or Doc and then you will be ready! Size your mascot to be sure it will fit into the envelopes you will be using. I typically use a brown clasp envelope that can hold a sheet of standard paper folded in half. I nest Yorkie inside the folded paper when mailing.
• Laminate them.
• Have each student write their return address with a permanent marker on the back using the SCHOOL'S ADDRESS. For some students, this will be the first time they are writing an address. I recommend sitting down in small groups to complete this task. I have also had parent volunteers take 2-3 students at a time to complete this step.

STEP 2: GATHER NAMES AND ADDRESSES

Usually in January, I send out a family letter introducing the New Yorkie project. This letter will spark excitement in the students and their families. The purpose of this note is to explain the expectations and process that we will follow to make this project a success.

On the second page of the letter there is an area where the student and parents write the names and addresses of 3 friends or family members that live somewhere in New York. It is important to make it clear to the students that they need to choose people that they believe will have the time and patience to participate. This page also has a due date to keep the parents on schedule.

Student Address Page
& Laminated Yorkie

While waiting for addresses to be returned get your Yorkie Basket "ready". I keep the following in the basket:

• the laminated Yorkies (with each student's name and school address on the back)
• pre-printed direction letter for the Yorkie recipients
• mailing envelopes
• extra Yorkies
• extra address letters for families
• markers, pencils

As the families return the addresses for each student, I put all of the addresses into my New Yorkie basket.

STEP 3: START THE ADVENTURE!

Once most of the addresses come back, I have students fill out the directions letter and address the envelopes for the first person on their list.

I send out a Yorkie too!
This is a great opportunity to connect with an educator in another school district.

This can also be done with a parent volunteer. Again, students will need explicit step-by-step directions for addressing the envelopes. I remind them to write small and neat. I also provide them a model envelope to help them plan their spacing. Students typically use a marker to fill out the envelopes. Some students will need to try more than once. Keep encouraging them, they can do it!

Students will also need to fill in the date, salutation, and closing of the directions letter.

Once their envelope and letter are done, the students stuff both their laminated New Yorkie and directions letter into the envelope. When a handful of students have completed their mailing, they go to the office to personally place their Yorkies into the outgoing mail. They love that step of the process.

STEP 4: WAITING FOR YORKIE TO RETURN

Yorkie usually takes a few weeks to come back. Once he returns the rewards sealed in the envelope will make the wait worth it! This part of the project is a great lesson in patience for the students. Each student's ability to be patient is different. Some students might ask to send out another Yorkie. I explain that they only have one and we must wait for their specific Yorkie to come back.

Since starting the project I have only had one time where Yorkie did not come back. However, I was told that Yorkie would not be returning. In that unique situation, we sent out a new one.

STEP 5: THE BULLETIN BOARD!  

Creating a bulletin board for all of the New Yorkie swag makes the project even more meaningful! I have a map of NY that I use as a focal point of the bulletin board. As the letters and memorabilia start coming in, I post them around the map. I connect a push pin (and sometimes a string) to the place where they came from. This helps the students identify their location compared to where New Yorkie has traveled.   

This Yorkie came with a QR Code to tell about his adventure!

Push pins show students where (and number of times) Yorkie has traveled

The NY Map/Bulletin Board

The students love to share with their classmates the letters and such that come in with their Yorkie. This is a great way to support the speaking and listening standards as well. After their swag has been up for a few weeks I send it home with them and put up new New Yorkie pictures and information. This gives the students a fresh bulletin board to learn from every few weeks.

STEP 6: REPEAT

Once a student’s first New Yorkie comes in, we address the envelope and fill out the letter for the next person on the list. This process helps us have a nice flow of Yorkies coming in and out. When Yorkies come back dressed up (and many, many of them do!), I keep Yorkie dressed as is and send him/her to the next person on the list.

All dressed up & showing home team spirit!

Fishing & Boating in Cape Vincent, NY

Trooper Yorkie!

This project is a great way to explore New York geography, its attractions, and history. It is amazing how creative some families are with this project. I love how it strengthens the home/school connection that helps build your academic community.

Dive in with this project! You can make up your own classroom learning mascot or use one familiar to your building/district. The rewards are well worth the time and effort.