Is it too early to start planning for Back to School?

I know, I know... We don't want to think about going back to school yet. It's only the beginning of July! 

But if you're like me, a little part of your teacher brain is still working ahead, thinking about everything you need (or want) to do before things start back up. 

So, if you're up late at night thinking about what you need to do, let me give you a short little list of things that I use frequently in my classroom that you might want to think about. 

(These are all links to my TpT store, The Owl Spot.) 

1. Daily Review 

Whether you're teaching ELA or Math, daily review is necessary for students to practice and master their skills. Here are a few links that will help you with this! 

ELA Bellwork for Upper Elementary Grades

ELA Bellwork for Grades 2-3

*** Both of these can be used digitally or printed for your students. The daily structure helps your students review key, grade level (and some review) skills to keep their understanding fresh all year! Super easy to use! 

Math Word Problems - 180 problems to use all year!

 

*** These are perfect for grades 3-4! Simple word problems. A Daily Word Problems for grades 4-5 is coming soon! These will focus more on multi-stepped and higher math skills.

2. Poetry

If you struggle to teach poetry, know that you are not alone! While poetry isn't a huge focus in the elementary grades, it's still an important concept to teach. Most (if not all) state and national testing have poetry questions. And if taught in small chunks throughout the year, this could be an area that your students can excel in. Also, teaching and reading poetry frequently helps with reading fluency, so it's a win/win for everyone! Here's some tools that will be a perfect addition for you this year.

Daily Poetry for Upper Elementary Grades (10 Minute Poetry Lessons)

Daily Poetry for Grades 2-3 (10 Minute Poetry Lessons)

*** These can both be used digitally or in a printed format. Simple to follow teacher steps for teaching poetry. Don't miss out! 

Elementary Poetry Lessons Bundle

** If you want to dive a little deeper into the poetry lessons that are in the Upper Elementary Grades product, this BUNDLE is ESSENTIAL! Extended lessons are included (along with your instructions). Perfect to use all year - also perfect for SUB PLANS!

3. Vocabulary

Vocabulary is an important part of any reading program. I've always been disappointed with the little available instruction in my curriculum. So, I created this AMAZING set of lessons that I've used in my classroom and have seen my students' knowledge of words, synonyms, and comprehension increase. 

Each lesson focuses on learning synonyms for new words, understanding and practice using tools (digital or hard copies of dictionaries - I gave a link to an online dictionary, but it's your choice), and then transferring their new word knowledge to sentence revisions and reading comprehension in texts. This is listed as a 4th grade resource, but I used it with my 5th graders to "catch them up." It can easily be used with 3rd grade as well. The link takes you to the Full Year Bundle, but you can also see details for each quarter.

4. Classroom Decor

Now, this is the fun stuff! I like to change up my decorations/theme every year or 2, so I'm always looking for something that's fun. There's also some great classroom posters below, too. Here's some items you may want to check out!

So, please enjoy relaxing and getting all of your summer bucket list done. When you're ready to start thinking about August, make sure to take a look at some of these things. I promise they will make your year easier!

Martha from "The Owl Spot"

How Do I Get My Students to Start Writing?

If you've ever asked this question to yourself or to someone else, don't worry: you're not alone! I think we all struggle with this. Here are a couple of ways that I've used that has been helpful to get my students writing during Writer's Workshop!

1. Heart Mapping

Georgia Heard in "Awakening the Heart" begins her book by talking about Heart Mapping.  I love this concept.  It gets students thinking about what things are close to their hearts that they can writing about.

 

Heard uses this method when teaching students to write poetry, but I've expanded it to all forms of writing.  Students want to write about what matters to them, and that's what this exercise gets them thinking about!

Here's how it's done:
*  Have students draw a large heart on one of the first couple pages of their writing journals.  In the picture above, we actually cut these out and attached them to the inside front cover of their writing journals. I wanted students to be able to find these quickly to get ideas.

* Inside their hearts, have them write the names of things that are important to them.  For instance, it might be the names of family members, pets, places they've visited, anything that is a favorite... I think you get the idea.  I always do one on chart paper as they are working on theirs.

* Asking students questions about things they like (what's your favorite dessert, what's your favorite sport... etc.) helps them think through the things that are close to their hearts.

* They can draw a picture or symbol to go with some or all of their ideas.

* After they "fill up their hearts," they can section the items off by drawing lines (if they want to).  I tell that that they are making it look kind of like a stained glass window. It's important to keep in mind that they do not have to fill in every spot in their heart maps. Many times throughout the year, students will think of something they can add to their map. And you'll also have experiences in class (field trips, experiments, school activities) that they may want to add, too!

* Once they have finished, they have this beautiful reminder in their writing journals of things they can write about if they need some ideas.

(I do not have any affiliate links or kick-backs for mentioning Georgia Heard's book - I just love it!)

2.  Read picture books that spark writing ideas!

You can get so many writing ideas from reading picture books.  For example...

* "All the Places to Love" by Patricia MacLachlan is a perfect read to get students thinking about a place they love to visit. The descriptive words are a great model for writing about their own favorite spot.

* "Thundercake" by Patricia Polacco can remind students of things they are/were afraid of and how they overcame their fears.

* "Saturdays and Teacakes" by Lester Laminak is great for writing about special memories with special friends/family members.

* "The Relatives Came" by Cynthia Rylant is a for writing about a time students went on a trip or vacation.

* "Diary of a Worm" by Doreen Cronin (or any of her Diary books) is a great format to get kids thinking from another animal's perspective.

There are so many amazing picture books oozing with writing ideas.  You have to think like a writer when you read them.


3. Pictures

You know the saying "A picture is worth a thousand words."  Well, get your student to begin writing those words down!  I've made it a routine in my classroom to start our day with an ELA skill building activity, and one of those is a Picture Writing Prompt. These are a favorite with my students, and many times, they will continue their story later on. Check out the links below for the FULL YEAR of ELA Skills activities. 

Here's something for you to try (or to have your students try).  I'm sure there will be lots of amazing ideas from this picture!

ELA Bell Ringers for Upper Elementary Grades printable

ELA Bell Ringers for Upper Elementary Grades digital

ELA Morning Work for Primary Grades digital

I'd love to read your stories and/or poems!  Even better, I'd love to read what your students have to write! Share in the comments :-)


Happy Writing!
Martha from "The Owl Spot"
www.the-owl-spot.blogspot.com
www.teacherspayteachers.com/store/The-Owl-Spot