Clip Chart and Classroom Management!

I have mentioned before that I love scouring the blog-o-sphere for great teacher blogs and websites! It's a great way to get new ideas and to meet educators from all over the map. I was recently directed to this blog through another one that I regularly read and let me tell you I am in love! I wanted to share a link about her classroom management technique that I think would work well for any K-5 classroom. What I have found and believe to be true is that the better prepared you are for your day and your lessons the less you will have to worry about classroom management. I believe that you should consider the needs of every single student when planning a lesson so that you can make sure that you are engaging everyone and are prepared for mishaps along the way. However, as we all know there will undoubtedly be those days or lessons that no matter how well prepared can go awry and lead to necessary classroom management techniques to get the entire class or just that one student back on track! I also firmly believe that while we should always reward good behavior the reward should come from the student feeling good about working hard and feeling successful, and while treasure boxes and treats are fun they should not be the number one motivating factor in good behavior. Having said that I give you the "Clip Chart!"
http://littlestlearners.blogspot.com/2011/01/best-thing-ever.html I love that students are rewarded and motivated by good behavior and that positive reinforcement is the tool used to encourage the rest of the class to work hard, rather than negative consequences! Hope you enjoy the clip chart and if you have any other great classroom management techniques you can share with a new teacher please do so!

Image Via: http://www.newmanagement.com/products/clip_chart.html

- Miss V

Where the Sidewalk Ends...

It has been crisp and sunny here in the city, so I thought I would take advantage of the sunshine by heading out on a walk the other day. My goal, was to walk from my house to Coit Tower and to document my journey along the way. As I walked I found myself thinking about all of the wonderful natural areas that San Francisco has and how important it is to share this natural beauty with our students. I had the pleasure of being a cabin leader for a group of fifth graders last spring through their outdoor education program. While the trip was amazing and educational, sharing in the beauty of nature and appreciating plants and wildlife is not limited to heading miles outside of the city limits! Urban cities like San Francisco have a plethora of beautiful natural areas that can be shared and admired by students right in their own "backyard".  As I walked I thought of the poem, "Where the Sidewalk Ends" by Shel Silverstein. Here is his beautiful poem accompanied by my photos. This would be a great activity for any age group, taking your students on an "Urban Hike" as I like to call it and then reflecting on the sights through photos, painting, drawing and poetry are great ways to incorporate art and literacy in your classroom! I hope you enjoy!

There is a place where the sidewalk ends,

 And before the street begins,

 And there the grass grows soft and white,

And there the sun burns crimson bright,

And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.

Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.

Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,

And watch where the chalk-white arrows go

To the place where the sidewalk ends.

Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,

For the children, they mark, and the children, they know

The place where the sidewalk ends.

  - Miss V

Word Wands!

Just read a post about this great idea for word wands! They are pointers for your students to use decorated with cute animals, poms, or other fun items to get your students excited about discovering words in the classroom! I love this idea because it makes reading interactive and fun and gives the students a great way to get their wiggles out while also practicing sight words found in the classroom! Check out this great blog that I found and her cute word wands! Love it! I can't upload the photo at the moment but as soon as I can I will!


http://firstgraderatlast.blogspot.com/2010/07/perfect-pointers.html

Teacher Tool Box!

As I said from my last post I have a "teacher tool box" which really consists of a folder on my computer and a huge file folder at home that holds a lot of the great teacher resources, ideas, inspiration and activites that I have been able to collect during  the last year or so. One thing I have learned is that in the field of education we must all work together to provide the best possible environment for our students so that they may thrive as learners and succeed inside and outside of the classroom! Also, as an educator I believe that in order to succeed as a teacher I too must also surround myself with the tools and resources necessary and continually push myself to learn new things about teaching! With that said here are a few great sites that I love to browse and take inspiration from to store in my teachers tool box!

http://www.atozteacherstuff.com/

A to Z Teacher stuff is a great resource for worksheets, lesson plans and a wonderful supportive community of teachers in all areas and levels of education.

http://www.jmeacham.com/

Miss Meacham's site is a great place for assessments, worksheets, games and lesson ideas!

http://www.wrsd.net/literacy/launch.cfm

WRSD is a great site focused on readers workshops for grade levels K-5

http://www.criticalpast.com/

Critical Past is a great resource for Social Studies research and lessons!

http://www.rethinkingschools.org/index.shtml

Rethinking Schools is a great site dedicated to teaching Social Justice Awareness in the classroom. I also subscribe to their magazine and highly reccomend looking into their site, and publications!

These are only a FEW of the many sites available to educators! I hope to update often about all of the great resources out there and look forward to finding great inspiration to share!

- Miss V

Welcome to my classroom!

I have had the wonderful pleasure to student teach in two great classrooms, in different grades and at different schools during my time as a teaching credential candidate. I also had the amazing opportunity to teach in my own classroom during the summer of 2010. In creating my own classroom I wanted to take elements from each classroom that I student taught in as well as incorporate my own ideas to suit the needs of my individual students and our needs as a summer school program.

The classroom that I was placed in for the summer school position belongs to a full time k-1 teacher during the regular school year so I was lucky enough to have access to tables and chairs as well as the most incredible word walls which my students and myself built upon over the summer. My goal in the summer school classroom was to make the space not only academically stimulating but also playful and fun for the long days and extended classroom time. I added an art center, a garden center, a music center and a dramatic play center. I organized the students into table groups based on color cards and adjusted seating throughout the summer as needed, dependent on ability level, classroom management needs and English language support partners. Since I taught through the Chinatown YMCA in Chinatown the majority of my students were bilingual in Cantonese/English or Mandarin/English and the students themselves were one of my greatest assets in English language development as they worked with one another helping in translation and just friendly support and community. Working in any school environment it is so important to be aware of the needs of your English Language Learners, and this particular classroom taught me that being aware of and empathetic to the needs of your English Language learners is key to reaching the full potential of all of your students.

Now a quick look at a few of the classrooms I have had the pleasure to teach in!

Miss V and a few students during Summer School!

My Summer School Classroom... Artwork created by my class to brighten the room!

 

Fourth Grade Student Teaching placement! Great Artwork displayed and students using their white boards during math!

Kindergarten Student Teaching placement, calendar, class rug, word wall and table groups in action!

I love that each classroom is different, suited to the needs of the individual classroom community. Having the opportunity to work in three different classrooms I was lucky enough to see the many ways a classroom could be organized and I was able to get some great creative ideas on how to design my own! In the fall the blog babblingabby did a great "tour of classrooms" take a look, I know I am keeping a lot of these great ideas in my "teacher tool box" and hope to use a few of them in the future!

Check out her post for a tour of her classroom as well as all of the other teachers that linked up!

- Miss V

Think Pair Share!

Welcome to my blog! I love the concept of think pair shares in the classroom! I believe it's not only important for my students but also to myself as an educator to practice independent thinking skills, collaboration and sharing of ideas and thoughts. This blog is a place where I can share a little bit about myself and my background in teaching. This is also a place where I can share and explore new teaching strategies, lesson plans and collaborate with other educators on great classroom strategies, fun activities and to journal where I've been and where I'm going in this wonderful world of education! Enjoy and feel free to follow or comment along the way!

- Miss V