Behavior Chart

I have seen so many behavior charts when observing different teacher's classrooms. Probably the best one I have seen is the one that looked similar to this one:


The clips can be moved both up and down the chart so there is always room for improvment in the child's behavior. And a child can have more than just "good behavior". The website this chart is featured on even has free acess to teacher reports you can send home with the students.

http://sunnydaysinsecondgrade.blogspot.com/2011/07/clip-it-up.html

This chart also seems to be the one that pops up the most when looking at different behavior charts.

I'm Done Jar

After searching many different classroom management techniques for ideas on what to have students do when they are finished, I found a great post on a blog called Teaching Blog Addict (http://www.teachingblogaddict.com/). The blogger has some wonderful ideas for just about everything, but I found just what I was looking for: An "I'm Done" jar.  The blogger wrote some activities on a popsicle stick and added a picture on the back of the activity. I love this idea! It keeps the student's behavior under control while other students finish their work and it is educational. In my classroom, I think I would put a different jar at each center (math, science, reading, writing, etc) and have the activities coincide with the subject of the center.  For more information on the "I'm Done" Jar here is the website : http://www.teachingblogaddict.com/2011/04/im-done-jar.html.

Bulletin Boards

One of the hardest thing I have found can be deciding on clever bulletin board ideas...so i did a little searching and found some great ideas, especially for the fall & winter months! These are some of my favorites that I found!


"Don't Get Snowed Under" Bulletin Board
http://bulletinboardideas.org/652/dont-get-snowed-under/


"I Like Winter because..." Hot Cocoa Bulletin Board
http://bulletinboardideas.org/3068/i-like-winter-hot-cocoa-bulletin-board/



"If I lived in a snowglobe..." Bulletin Board
http://bulletinboardideas.org/3087/if-i-lived-in-a-snow-globe-winter-bulletin-board-idea/


"To make a Grinch grin I would..."
http://stepintosecondgrade.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2011-05-31T16%3A48%3A00-05%3A00&max-results=7


Turkey Door
http://pinterest.com/pin/62839357270274505/


I can't wait to try some of these ideas!

Dry-Erase Alphabet & Number Practice Cards

I found this great product at Educationaltoys4kids.com. It is a set of 26 giant, illustrated letter cards!Kids can practice their letters by practicing tracing the dotted line. The best part about them is that they are reusable. They can be found at http://www.educationaltoys4kids.info/dry-erase-alphabet-practice-cards/ for about $20 if you want to buy them. However, after looking at how simple these are and how they will mainly be used for children who need extra practice with the alphabet, writing, and sounds, I think you could just make them! I mean we are on a teachers budget. You can use microsoft office to make your own alphabet & number cards and have them laminated. Then just use a dry erase marker to have the kids trace it! Simple as that and much more cost efficient. This will be a homemade tool I'll use in my classroom for extra practice for sure!

Global Connections: GeoGame Project

One of great resource to link kids around the world is http://www.globalschoolnet.org/. It is pretty much a go-to website for various programs, collaborations, and projects. After look at the website, I found a program that I really like called GeoGame. The Global SchoolNet Foundation has supported GeoGame since 1991. This project was developed by Tom Clauset of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Since I am from NC and plan on teaching in NC, I got really excited to see that someone from NC developed this project! The project was even in the May 1990 issue of the Computing Teacher Magazine, it can be seen at http://www.globalschoolnet.org/gsh/teach/articles/keys.2.success.html. GeoGame's purpose is for primarly middle to upper elementary students to learn geography terms, learn how to read and interpret maps, and increase the awareness of geographical and cultural diversity.

Here is the summary of the project from http://www.globalschoolnet.org/gsh/project/gg/description.cfm

Summary:

1. "You must register to play a game or submit a clue to be included in a future game. This is only required once. "
2. "If you want to include your own commmunity in one of our games, you must have your students research information about your community, such as latitude, longitude, typical weather, land formations, time zone, population, points of interest, and for whom/what famous, and then enter that information on our GeoGame Questionnaire. "
3. "When we receive your questionnaire containing the clues about your community, we check and archive your responses. When we have enough entries to make a balanced game, we format them all into a new puzzle to be solved. We maintain these new games for approximately one year. "
4. "To play a GeoGame, you and your students can select one or more of the current games. Then your students, with help from maps, atlases, and other reference materials, match the description of each location in the game with the name of the corresponding city. After the students have decided the answers to the game, you enter your answers into the form at the top of the game page. If all of your answers are correct a certificate will be presented to print out and post on your bulletin board. "

Media Resources

BrainPop Jr.
BrainPop Jr. is a great tool for not only K-3 teachers to use but also for the students and parents to use. There is a fee to use all of the resources on BrainPop; however, there are still tons on free resources on the site that can be used. The subjects that are free include everyhing from classifying animals to bullying to nouns, etc. The resources include word walls, lesson ideas, quizzes, games, activities, etc. I have actually used BrainPop as an additional resource in one of my past lessons. It was a great tool and even I learned more about the subject through BrainPop then what I already knew. For more information on Brain Pop and to see other reviews: http://www.commonsensemedia.org/website-reviews/brainpop-jr. For the actual BrainPop website: http://www.brainpopjr.com/

Dolphin Tale
Dolphin Tale is a movie with the themes of courage and survival. It is based on the true story of an injured dolphin named Winter. It has many of positive messages throughout the lesson and is educational in the sense that you learn about marine animals, specifically dolphins. I can see myself using this in a lesson on marine life and endangered species. Dolphin Tale is also a book and Scholastic has teaching resources for both the book and movie avaliable for teachers at http://www.scholastic.com/winterstail/. You can see the movie webiste for more info at http://dolphintalemovie.warnerbros.com/index.html#/home and at winterstail.com there are resources and curriculum materials for the field trips to aquraiums, as well as books and teaching materials on other animals who have faced challenges like injuries Winter faced. For reviews check out http://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/dolphin-tale.