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.
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.
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!
