Thursday, May 22, 2014

Summer Writing Journals


Sometimes we worry that our students will forget everything we have taught them over the summer. To try to prevent this from happening, we prepare summer writing journals and distribute them as parting gifts. To make your own, copy and bind pages topped with a variety of writing prompts, such as, “I finally learned how to…”, “The best thing I did with my family this week was…” and “A great movie I just saw was…”. Alternately, you can glue journal prompts to the tops of pages in a composition book and add a cute cover to the front. These give our students support and encouragement to journal over the summer and confidence in their writing. 

 

Friday, May 16, 2014

A Clever Storage Idea

Here’s a handy classroom storage tip. Collect empty, plastic tennis ball or Pringles canisters. (A local fitness or tennis club is a good source for rounding up the tennis ball canisters.) Wrap the containers in colorful contact paper or laminated construction paper. Add decorations with permanent marker or stickers. Use the containers to store chalk, pencils, art supplies or manipulatives. Students can even store their school supplies in a canister as an alternative to a pencil box. The canisters are durable, take up very little storage space and slide into cubbies and shelves easily.

Monday, May 12, 2014

Can’t Miss May Books


As you are pulling out your books for May, consider adding these to your list. Some are charming, others are illuminating and several are full of heroism. Plus we’ve included some ideas for reading follow-up. Let us know if you have some good May books we should be sharing with our classes!