Photo Credit: KB35

We all know how we start the year with students directly impacts what is to come . . . and just how smoothly it will go. Following are a few ideas to get things flowing in the right direction.

Post an inspirational quote on the door, or at the entryway.

Something about striving for excellence, or perhaps self esteem. This is a great way to establish atmosphere from the start.

A horizontal line of clocks above the board at the front of the room.

Starting with the city your classroom is in, and moving from left to right, put a sign under each clock with the name of a different international city. If you have pen pals in a particular city, include that one as well. Set each clock to the appropriate time zone for its corresponding city. This decorative element is fun, unexpected, and sets a serious academic tone in your room. It’s also very grown up, making it excellent for high school students as well as classrooms as young as the fourth grade, where feeling more grown up is a huge priority.

A math assessment.

On day one. Pick whichever one you deem fit for your new students. A quiz, or perhaps the annual grade level pre-assessment from your school’s selected math series. If the series does not provide a pre-assessment, there should be a yearly review from the previous year’s grade level. Consider using that.  Not only will it provide you with hard data on whether or not your students’ skills have atrophied over the summer, but incorporating this on day one will send the message that you mean business. Math is considered serious subject matter, and starting off with an assessment on mathematical content will ensure your students will take you seriously as well. Obviously middle and high school teachers who don’t instruct on every single subject will need to consider alternative assessments or activities, but for general elementary teachers, this is a winner.

Post the latitude and longitude of your location outside your room.

A simple “welcome to” sign will suffice. You can determine your accurate longitude and latitude by using either a GPS, Google Earth, or this link from the USGS.

Letter writing.

Since basic letter writing skills start getting covered as early as first grade, and reviewed for years afterward, they are a great activity to assign the first day of school. The basic elements are quick to reintroduce, the assignment is assessable at a glance, and it allows for a variety of ability levels to participate without being singled out. Whether you have the students write away for freebies, compose a thank you letter to last year’s teacher, or choose a favorite author to write to, the important thing is to have a hard copy of an entry level writing sample for each student. From here you can gather multitudes of information on exactly how you should implement your initial language arts program.

A walk through practice session of the admin-approved fire drill procedure.

You might also include a tour of key locations such as the nurse’s office, where to line up after recess, the cafeteria, etc.

Pack your evacuation bag.

This one is more for your peace of mind. The details are covered in the previous bomb bag post, but suffice it to say an emergency departure bag is a good idea for any teacher in today’s society.  

These are my top seven picks for beginning of the year elements to include. I deliberately left off the covering of the class rules, because I know you’ll all do that anyway. The purpose of the piece was to provide solid strategies for professionals at multiple grade levels that would help set a productive tone.  My hope is that I’ve achieved that purpose. I believe I have. Have a great start to the school year, everybody.

Photo Credit: Yaronimus Maximus

I don’t have to tell you how much paper consumption goes in to our yearly bulletin boards. I also don’t have to tell you just how tedious it is to get them ready and keep them rolling every year. Looking to save paper and a little bit of your precious time? Read on.

Cloth is a colorful, creative and eco friendly way to go when it comes to selecting a bulletin background. Bonus? You can reuse it year after year. Simply select a solid background color a bit larger than the cork surface of your board. Press or lightly steam the fabric, and staple tautly and smoothly to the bulletin. Using a sharp Exacto knife, trim the cloth to the edges of the board frame. You can do this with many different fabrics, including a dark colored cotton to ground the room, burlap for texture, or felt for additional use as an old fashioned flannel board.

Need some ideas for trim? Rope or braiding works great for an ocean or nautical theme, or visit a bulk discount fabric store for other trims such as flat, non fringed ethnic trims that are a bit wider, or thin belt fabric.

Got another idea for a great fabric bulletin board? Share it with us!

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Looking to integrate Native American heritage with a state of Maine studies unit? This title by Elizabeth George Speare might be just the ticket.

In this historical fiction piece for intermediate students, a young man is left alone in the wild to tend the new homestead while his father returns to civilization for the rest of the family. He makes friends with a reluctant Native American boy and at the request of the boy’s father, teaches him to read. When his father is late arriving back with the family, the boy begins to fear the worst and must decide whether to stay and wait, or travel with his friend’s tribe, who are leaving for good.

This tale of coming of age is an excellent title for use in literature circles or whole group instruction.

Photo Credit: Amazon.Com

This historically themed, family style story of the American prairie features a family’s grief, a farm’s struggle and a mail order bride.

A classic piece in American classrooms for early intermediate students, this book turned movie by Patricia MacLachlan is an excellent example of a “big kid” story written at a more accessible level for younger readers.

A father and farmer with two young children loses his wife and struggles to keep his life and family on track. He posts an advertisement and a woman from Maine answers. She arrives to make a difference, but not the one he expects.

Personal verdict: A great choice for introducing chapter books to younger readers, both in literature circles or as a whole group book study.

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Looking for a magical tale of intrigue from the great frozen north? This wondrous story of a parallel universe may be just the ticket.

Sam Elliott, Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig star in this film chronicling the journey of a young girl on a quest to save her world, and the one beyond. Warrior bears, secret dust, a magical compass . . . this movie seems to have all as far as kids are concerned.

For as much controversy as this film generated in the religious community, I expected it to be much more preachy. But honestly? Not my impression at all. I simply saw this as a visually intense, story-rich flick that kids of all ages could get excited about seeing. Is there some obvious allegory and an anti-establishment overtone? Sure. But nothing that in my opinion got in the way of the great entertainment this film offers.

Worth checking out.

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A magical store where toys come to life is the backdrop for this film starring Natalie Portman and Dustin Hoffman.

The Wonder Emporium, run by Mr. MaGorium, is getting ready to change hands. Dustin Hoffman’s character (MaGorium) wants to give the store to his long time manager and apprentice Mahoney (Portman) as his legacy to her. But the transition doesn’t go as either of them plan. Included in the mischief and mayhem are the store’s new accountant and it’s most loyal young customer and managerial assistant, Eri.

Packed with fun, magic and the power of imagination, I found this movie to be an extremely pleasant surprise.

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What do you get when you combine the talents of Angela Lansbury, Colin Firth and Emma Thompson?

A magical tale of love, responsibility and growing up. Emma Thompson plays Nanny McPhee, the latest in a long string of nannies hired by Mr. Brown (Colin Firth) who have previously been easily run off by his seven resistant children. The difference this time? Magic.

McPhee uses her powers to direct their rowdiness on a path they never expected. As far as the hubbub of this movie being a new Mary Poppins . . . well, I’m sure that was meant as a compliment, but I believe it may be a disservice to a film that’s clearly able to stand on its own.

A great addition to the classroom library. Keep it on hand to show for a hard earned whole group behavioral reward. Primary through intermediate grade levels should find it entertaining.  

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A darker children’s story with a European feel, this film would make an interesting selection for the intermediate classroom.

Based on a children’s book series by the same name, this piece stars Jim Carrey, Meryl Streep and the narrative voice of Jude Law. The persecuted child theme brought back memories for me of some of Roald Dahl’s work.

I noticed it was filmed with a visually dark approach as well, which I found an interesting artistic choice. It definitely added to the feel of this movie, and added more than a touch of drama. This film would make a great addition to any educator’s film library, on its own or as a culminating viewing activity after studying the books as a class.

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A working father’s night job turns out to be far more intense than he expects . . .

Ben Stiller, Robin Williams, Dick Van Dyke and Owen Wilson join for a feel good family movie that celebrates history in a humorous tale of thievery and teamwork.

Ben Stiller plays Larry Daley, a newly hired night watchman who must somehow learn to control the chaos and create peace between the museum’s evening residents, who come alive from sunset to sunrise. A fun film for at home or in the classroom.

Photo Credit: Oskay

Tired of cleaning out individual glue caps with the closest available paper clip? I hear you. Here’s why glue sticks are one of my favorite classroom supplies . . . and why they always went on my new student “back to school” buy list during my classroom days.

No leaks.

Not on the desk areas, not in their backpacks, not in a box of your math manipulatives . . . nowhere. Sure, if you leave them out in the hot sun you may get some melting, but in general, these are not a messy project tool.

No clogs.

Ah, the freedom of starting a whole group art project without losing an entire free class period ahead of time cleaning out glue bottle nozzles. Just give the directions, distribute the materials and let them go for it.

Streamlined product dispensing.

Release yourself from over pouring, over squeezing, messy residue and more. Glue sticks are much easier for me to use as an adult, so I can only imagine how much easier they are for a young child still working on fine motor skills.

So take the plunge, free yourself from unnecessary glue bottle aggravation and set your students up for success. Go for the glue sticks, and imagine the power of streamlined student projects.