Kids hopping in the hallways, stretching to reach the tops of doorways, and making a human ruler stretched along the wall are sure signs that a class is learning about measurement, or that the teacher has disappeared and the kids are acting crazy. Measurement can be lots of fun if it is done with creativity and hands on activities. Kids love to have opportunities to try out new ideas. As soon as you put a measuring tape in a child's hand, you can bet they will start to measure everything around them. Of course, it's important that you show them how to use the equipment correctly if you want accuracy. Non-standard and standard measurementThere's nothing more fun than a ruler that's constantly being moved around the classroom. So when it comes to teaching measurement, I always start by making sure my students understand the importance of a standard measure. In order to do this, they should do lots of activities using non-standard units first that give different results. One of my favourite activities is measuring with shoes. I choose two students with shoe sizes that are very different. We pretend to measure a length where we are going to build a fence. The number of shoe lengths is quite different for each student, so it is easy for the kids to see that we need something more standard to make sure we get the right amount of material needed. This is the perfect time to introduce rulers with inches, feet, and yards, or centimetres and metres, depending on the standard units where they live. Once they get the idea of standard measuring units, add in measuring tapes. There are so many activities that can be done with these tools. See below for more ideas. Measuring is an essential math skill that children need to learn in order to understand concepts like volume, area, and length. There are many different ways to measure things, and it can be tricky for kids to understand all of the different units. However, there are some games and activities that can help make learning about measurement a little bit easier - and even fun! Linear measurement activitiesMeasuring things around the classroom is a great way to get kids interested, and there are plenty of games and activities you can use to keep them engaged. Here are a few ideas. 1. Set up stations around the room with various objects to measure and let the kids rotate around to each station. 2. Do a "measurement scavenger hunt" where kids have to find objects that match specific measurement criteria (e.g., an object that is exactly 10 cm long). 3. Use string to measure things around the class like furniture, doorways or cupboards. Let the kids use a different type of measurement each time e.g. feet/inches or metres/centimetres. 4. Have kids line up in a straight line and then measure them using a standard ruler. 5. Have kids estimate the length of various objects using their arms or feet and then measure the objects to see how accurate they were. 6. Have kids measure their own height or the height of a partner. 7. Estimate and measure! Have the children choose an object - it could be anything from a toy car to a pillow - and then estimate its length. Once they've written down their estimate, they can use a ruler or tape measure to find out its actual length. Volume and weight measurement activitiesUnderstanding volume/capacity and weight is another form of measurement that is necessary for real world use. It is important to have an idea of how much something weighs, how much is needed of various ingredients for cooking meals, how much soil is needed for planting a garden, etc. Doing hands on games and activities will help kids understand this and hopefully apply it to their own life experiences. Here are a few ideas for getting started. 1. Using candy or other small treats, measure out equal amounts into separate containers using standard measurements like cups, tablespoons or millilitres. Let the kids enjoy eating their treats as a reward for completing the task! 2. Get creative cooking! Set up small groups for cooking. Let the kids measure out ingredients using standard or metric measurements. Not only will they be learning about measurement, but they'll also get a delicious treat at the end! 3. Fill up different containers with water (or sand if you're outdoors) and have kids estimate how many litres (or gallons) each container holds. Then use a measuring cup to check their estimates. 4. Build towers! This game is perfect for exploring volume measurement. Give each child a specified amount of building blocks - 1 cup, 2 cups, 3 cups, etc. - and see how tall of a tower they can build with their blocks without letting any spill over. This is also a great opportunity to talk about capacity versus weight - how many blocks does it take to make 1 kilogram? 1 pound? 5. Give each child an object of a different size and have them guess which object is the heaviest, lightest, tallest, etc. Then check to see if the guesses are correct. Other types of measurement activitiesThere are other forms of measurement that we use regularly as well. Time and temperature, for example. There are also many other ways that we use measurement in various subject areas. It is important to spend some time discussing different types of measurement - linear, area, weight, capacity and so on - and what units are used. Depending on the time available, activities could be done to look at more of these uses. Whenever possible, use real-life examples to illustrate measurement concepts. As much as possible, let kids get involved with the actual measuring. This will help them better understand the concepts and make it more enjoyable. If you are looking for some measurement resources for your classroom, here are some suggestions. You can find more by visiting my Measurement category in my TPT store. Measurement Anchor Charts And Conversions Linear Measurement Charts And Examples Measurement Games Team Events This booklet helps to explain the difference between non-standard and standard measurement. It also gives examples. The possibilities are endless! Teaching measurement doesn't have to be boring - by doing activities like these, your kids will be having so much fun they won't even realize they're learning! So get out there and let the kids hop in hallways, stretch to reach to tops of doorways, make human rulers, and start measuring! Related Posts
0 Comments
Have you ever noticed how excited young kids get when they match the shape with the hole in the shape matching games? From the time they are very young, children are exposed to geometry in their world. One of the most rewarding things about being a primary teacher is watching kids discover geometry for the first time. There's something so special about seeing the lightbulb moment when they realize that the world is full of shapes and patterns. Teaching GeometryGeometry is a fascinating subject that can be discovered anywhere, from the shapes in our environment to the patterns in nature. For primary kids, geometry is a great way to develop their spatial awareness and problem-solving skills. But, teaching geometry to kids isn't always easy. Some learners struggle with abstract concepts like 2D and 3D shapes. That's why it's important to use a variety of activities and games to help them explore geometry in a concrete way. I am always looking for fun and engaging ways to teach geometry to my students. I love incorporating games and activities into my lessons, and I have found that this really helps to capture the attention of my kids. There are lots of different games and activities that can be used to help them understand 2D and 3D geometry. And best of all, they can learn without even realizing it. I am a strong believer in connecting learning to real world experiences. This helps kids to better understand their world and to make sense of the abstract concepts they learn at school. Geometry is all around us, so there are plenty of opportunities to incorporate it into everyday life. Here are just a few ideas to get you started. 2D GeometryStart with the basics – help your kids to recognise and name common 2D shapes. Then move on to introducing basic properties such as sides and angles. You can use real-life examples to illustrate these concepts – for example, a plate is a good example of a circle, a slice of pizza is a triangle, and a door is a rectangle. Once your kids have mastered the basics, there are lots of fun activities you can do to help them consolidate their learning. Here are some 2D resources that can help you get started. 2D Shapes Around Us 2D Shapes Bingo 2D Environmental Shapes Task Cards 2D Shapes - I Have, Who Has? 3D Geometry3D geometry can be a little more challenging for primary kids, but it’s still important for them to learn the basics. Start by helping them to identify common 3D shapes such as spheres, cubes and cylinders. Again, you can use real-world examples to illustrate these concepts – for instance, a tennis ball is a sphere, while a block of cheese is a cube and a tin can is a cylinder. Being able to identify the different shapes by their attributes is more complex, but with practice and hands on activities they will be able to do it. Once your kids have grasped the basics, there are lots of fun activities you can do to consolidate their learning. One of my favorite activities to do with my students is a geometric solids scavenger hunt. I give them a list of items to find and bring to school. After the objects have been found, we use them to test out different things and then we build structures with them. Note: Make sure that they have permission to create things with them. Interested in getting a copy of my scavenger hunt and bingo resource? It is available for free for my newsletter subscribers. Here are some other 3D resources that can help you get started. 3D Geometric Solids Posters 3D Geometric Solids Task Cards 3D Environmental Shapes Kids get really excited when the geometric solids come out. They are curious by nature, and they love being able to build and create things. The more they get this hands on experience, the more they are able to understand how the different attributes affect the use of the different solids. They learn what solids can be stacked together, what ones roll, what ones slide, and what ones are best for stability, just to name a few. Here is a set of activities that I created for my students. They loved trying out these different structures and creating their own. They also had fun testing out which solids could slide or roll. Check it out here. These are just a few ideas to get you started. With a little creativity and imagination, learning geometry can be great fun – for both you and your students! Don't forget to grab your free copy of Geometric Solids Scavenger Hunt And Bingo. Related PostsAnimals are fascinating creatures and kids love to learn about them and their life cycles. They are in awe from the moment of their births and they marvel at the ways they grow and change. What is a life cycle?Every animal on Earth has a life cycle - this is the process they go through from when they're born until they die. All animals have different life cycles, and the length of time it takes them to go through each stage varies hugely too. Let's take a look at some examples. A frog's life cycle has four stages: egg, tadpole, juvenile, and adult. Frogs start their lives as eggs, which are laid in water. Once they hatch, they grow into tadpoles, which have tails and live in water. As they mature, they develop legs and lose their tails, becoming juveniles. Eventually, they turn into adults and leave the water for good. Honey bees have a very different life cycle to frogs. They have three stages: larva, pupa, and adult. Honey bee larvae hatch from eggs and are fed by the worker bees. After a few weeks, they enter the pupa stage. During this stage, their bodies change and they develop into adults. Once they emerge they take on their roles of worker bees, drones, or queen bees. Mammals life cycleThe animal life cycle that is probably the most familiar to us is the one we see in mammals. Mammals generally go through four distinct stages in their lives-embryo, neonate, juvenile, and adult. As human mammals, we can relate to these. When a woman is pregnant, the baby is in the embryo stage. This is the time from when the egg is fertilized by the male until the baby is born. When the baby is born, it needs to be cared for by the parents because it is not able to care for itself yet. This is the neonate stage. As the child becomes more independent and able to care for itself, we refer to this as adolescence or the juvenile stage. When the child has reached full maturity and can mate and have offspring of its own we refer to this as the adult stage. Life cycles in the classroomIn many primary classrooms, at some time during the year you will find a life cycle of some animal being studied. At my school, this was usually butterflies, chickens, or salmon. Not only were the students in the class excited to see the changes from eggs through the stages as they became these different animals, other students around the school would often stop by to check out the changes too. There is no better way to learn than to experience it in person. Learning from videos, books, or shared experiences of others is okay, but seeing that butterfly emerge from its chrysalis, watching that baby chick peck it way out of the egg or releasing fry into the river will imprint that memory for years to come. If you are interested in studying the life cycles of animals with your class, here are some resources that I have created that might help. Life cycle of a salmon Life cycle of a frog Life cycle of a chicken Life cycle of a honey bee Life cycle of a butterfly Here is a set of templates that may be helpful for gathering information about animal life cycles. It is part of a set of 4 animal research templates. Grab your free copy by subscribing to my newsletter. Related PostsWhen it comes to teaching beginning young writers, there are a few essential tools that every teacher needs in their toolbox. What's in your toolbox?1. Patience First and foremost, patience is key. It can be frustrating for beginning writers when their ideas don't always come out perfectly on paper, but it's important to remember that they're still learning and growing. Try to provide encouragement and positive feedback whenever possible. 2. Sense of humor Secondly, a good sense of humor can go a long way. When beginning writers make mistakes, try to see the humor in it and help them to see the silver lining. 3. Story telling Lastly, story telling is a great tool for beginning writers. By providing examples of stories that have been successfully written, beginning writers can see what is possible and be inspired to create their own masterpiece. With these tools in your toolbox, you'll be well on your way to teaching beginning young writers. Tips for getting startedThere's nothing more rewarding than seeing a beginning young writer find their voice. But getting started can be tough. That's why I always tell my students that the best way to become a better writer is to write every day, even if it's just for a few minutes. One of the best ways to get started is to keep a journal. Write about anything and everything - what you did today, what you're thinking about, what you're feeling. It doesn't have to be perfect, and no one else has to read it. Just getting your thoughts down on paper can help you to clear your head and see things in a new light. Another great tip for beginning writers is to read as much as you can. Not only will this help to improve your writing skills, but you'll also get some great ideas for things to write about. So go ahead and crack open a book (or two, or three!) and start exploring the world of writing today. Remember that every writer has to start somewhere. So don't expect perfection from the beginning. Just encourage them to get their thoughts down on paper, and worry about editing later. I often tell my students to use approximations to get their ideas out, and then find the "dictionary spelling" when they are ready to polish their work. If they fret too much about correct spelling, the stories will never be as developed and wonderful as they could be. Use scaffolds and graphic organizersScaffolds and graphic organizers can be extremely helpful for beginning writers. By providing a structure for their thoughts, beginning writers can more easily organize their ideas and put them into words. Scaffolds also help beginning writers to stay on track, keeping their focus on the task at hand. Graphic organizers can be used to plan out a story or to brainstorm ideas for an essay. They can also be used to keep track of characters and events in a story. By using scaffolds and graphic organizers, beginning writers can become more confident and proficient in their writing. Here are a couple of scaffolds that I have used successfully over the years for the fall. If you would like a copy, click on the images. Finally, be sure to offer plenty of compliments and encouragement along the way. Let them know that you're proud of their progress, and that you believe in their ability to become great writers. Remember: With a little support and guidance, beginning writers can achieve anything. Related PostsHave you ever found yourself in the store trying to figure out if you have enough money for all the things you want to buy? Or maybe you are hungry and hoping you have enough money to get food to eat. How about calculating how many buttons you will need for markers for a new bingo game? These are only a few examples of why we need to understand numbers and how they work. When it comes to teaching kids math, there's more to it than just rote memorization. Sure, memorization is important, but it's also essential that students develop their number sense skills. What is number sense?Number sense is basically an instinctive understanding of numbers and their relationships. It's what allows us to quickly add up a grocery bill in our heads or estimate how much time it will take to complete a task. It includes an understanding of place value, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, decimals, fractions, percentage, and ratio. Most importantly, number sense is developed through exploration and exposure to a variety of number concepts and problems. Number sense games are a great way to help kids develop this important skill. Number sense gamesAs a primary teacher, I am always looking for fun and engaging math games to play with my students. Games are a great way to help kids develop number sense, and they also make math more fun! Here are four number sense math games to try: 1. Skip counting: To play, students simply choose a number to start with, then count up by 2s, 3s, 4s, or 5s until they reach 100. Not only does this help students to practice their counting skills, but it also helps them to understand place value and the relationships between numbers. 2. Comparing Numbers: To play, students simply choose two numbers and then compare them using the symbols >, <, or =. This game helps students to understand number concepts such as greater than/less than and equality/inequality. 3. Number BINGO: To play, students try to fill in their bingo boards with numbers that match the number called out by the teacher. 4. Number Addition Bump: To play, roll two dice and add them up. Find the number on the bump chart and place a marker there. If someone else is on that number, you can bump them off. If there are no available numbers, you wait for your next turn and roll again.The goal is to be the one with the most markers on the chart at the end of the game. So there you have it - four great games for helping kids develop number sense! Why not give them a try in your classroom today? Place value activitiesPlace value is one of the most important concepts in math, and it's also one of the hardest for students to understand. That's why place value math games are such a valuable teaching tool. By playing these games, students can learn about place value in a fun and interactive way. Here are just a few place value games to try: 1. Place Value BINGO: This game is a great way to review place value concepts with your students. In this game, each student is given a bingo card with numbers on it. The teacher then calls out place values and the student marks off the corresponding number on their card. The first student to get bingo wins! 2. Place Value Sort: To play, you'll need a collection of place value cards with different forms of the number on them. The goal of the game is to match up the cards with the correct number. For example: 433, 400+30+3, and base ten form: 4 hundred blocks, 3 ten blocks and 3 units. 3. What's The Value?: In this game, kids take turns calling out numbers and the other players have to identify the place value of each number. For example, if someone calls out "123," the other players might say "1 hundred, 2 tens, 3 ones." Representing numbers resourcesBeing able to recognize and represent numbers in various ways is an important skill. I have created a couple of activities to help with this. Representing Numbers is a multi-faceted activity with task cards for base ten form, standard notation, and expanded notation. It also includes a bingo game. You can find out more about how to use it in the video below. These place value worksheets help with identifying and writing out numbers in standard notation, expanded notation, base ten form, and number words. There are several themes to choose from Here is a place value practice activity that can be used anytime. Get a free copy by signing up for my newsletter. I hope these games and activities help you with providing importance practice using numbers and place value so that your students will be able to handle situations in the real world. Related PostsWhen I was first introduced to using glyphs in math, I'll admit I was a little dubious. It seemed more like an art project than a math tool. But once I saw the benefits of using glyphs, I was sold! What are glyphs?Glyphs are pictures with characteristics that represent different responses, which can be extremely helpful for visual learners. And because they're picture-based, they can also be a lot of fun! There are all sorts of glyphs out there, from traditional sun and star shapes to more modern emoji-style pictures. Many glyphs are used in our environment to represent different places, objects, and rules. How to use glyphsFor math, glyphs are great for comparing, contrasting and counting data based on the attributes in the image. Each attribute can be used to represent a different response. For example, a pumpkin has different shapes, eyes, mouths and number of teeth. The shape or style of these attributes can represent answers to questions such as what is your favorite food? This is a fun way for students to learn how to interpret data and make math more engaging. Plus, it's a great way to sneak in some extra Halloween fun! Sometimes glyphs are created by selecting different parts or images and putting them together to create the picture. Here are some examples of this type of glyph. Turkey Glyphs Ipad Glyphs Other times, glyphs are drawn based on the attributes that match the responses to the questions. Here is an example of this. The purpose of glyphsRegardless of the type of glyph chosen, the purpose is the same - to interpret data. They are great for learning how to interpret data from the attributes and how they correspond to the questions. The purpose of the glyph can also be connected to various themes or subjects. A bookmark could be created to share things about a person such as hobbies, likes, dislikes, etc. An animal could be used to learn more about pets or animals that have been encountered, etc. A book might show what types of books or characters are favorites. You can create you own shapes and themes based on your needs and creativity. .As you can see, glyphs can be used for many different purposes. Once they are created, post them on the board and let the data interpretation begin. If you are interested in trying out some glyphs, here is a guide that might help. It is free for my subscribers. Click on the image to get your copy. Glyphs make math fun and engaging for kids, which is a great way to get them interested in learning about data interpretation. The possibilities with glyphs are endless. Related PostsIt's that time of year again! Kids are heading back to school and teachers are planning lessons. Before you know it, it will be time for student led conferences. I know that thinking about assessments already is daunting, but if you start doing a bit at a time you will be able to do it. It will all help you to be ready when it is time for conferences. As a primary teacher, I liked the student led conference format because it gave my students a chance to show off all of their hard work. It was also a great opportunity to get to know each student's strengths and weaknesses. Student led conferencesStudent led conferences are a fantastic way for parents and children to work together to reflect on the student's progress so far. It is an opportunity for the student to share what they are proud of, what goals they have set and what strategies they are using to achieve these. The student is in the driver's seat whilst the parent(s) and teacher play a supportive role. This format not only empowers the student, but also provides parents with an insight into their child's thinking and how they view their own progress. These conferences also give teachers an opportunity to reflect on their teaching and how well they are meeting each student's needs. Benefits of student led conferencesStudent led conferences offer a number of benefits for both the child and the parent. For the child, it is an opportunity to take ownership of their learning and to share their work and achievements with their parents. They also have a chance to practice their communication skills and build confidence. They can share their own perspective on their progress, which can be very valuable for parents to hear. For the parent, it is an opportunity to see their child in a positive light and to be involved in their child's education. It is a great way to ask questions and give feedback in an encouraging way. I believe that student led conferences are hugely beneficial for all involved and strongly encourage all families to attend. The teacher's roleThe role of the teacher is to facilitate the student led conference, ensuring that each student has the opportunity to share their learning. The teacher provides support and guidance to the student, and answers any questions from the parent. Student led conferences offer a unique opportunity for teacher and parent to connect with each other and with the student, promoting student achievement. Student led conferences can be a powerful tool for promoting student achievement and parent involvement in education. Preparing for student led conferencesPreparation is key for student led conferences. I sent home information for parents about what student led conferences are and how they can help their child succeed. I also included a sign-up sheet so that parents could choose a time that works for them. In the weeks leading up to student led conferences, folders were created with work that each child has done. Prior to the conferences, self evaluations were done and these were added to the folders. For each conference, an agenda was created with all the things that should be covered during the conference. After going over the agenda, I had the kids role play and practice going through the agenda list. They have a great time pretending to be parents and students for each other and it ensures that they know what is required when the actual conferences happen. If you would like to give student led conferences a try, I have created a learning journal for gathering up information that can be used for communicating student learning on a monthly basis. You can get a free copy by signing up for my newsletter. Do you think you would like to give it a try, but don't want to invent the wheel? I have created some templates and materials that can help to make your student led conferences successful. You can check them out here. Student led conferences are a great way for teachers, students, and parents to connect and communicate about student progress. With a little bit of preparation, they can be an enjoyable and stress-free experience for everyone involved! I used this format successfully for over 20 years. I highly recommend trying it. Related PostsWatching A Seed GrowThere's nothing quite like watching a plant grow. It's a miracle of life that never gets old, no matter how many times you see it. And there's no better place to see it than in the classroom, with a bunch of curious kids who are just as excited as you are. Seeing the wonder in their eyes as they observe the tiny seedlings sprouting up and then getting to watch them monitor the plant's progress day after day is truly a magical experience. Seasons And SeedsSpring is a great time to get seeds started for planting outside and growing fruits and vegetables throughout the summer. Watching that little seed that started its life in the classroom grow to maturity and produce food to eat is incredulous. Imagine one little seed producing an entire tree full of apples or a garden full of beans or other produce. Fall can also be a good time to plant some seeds in the classroom. For example, if you plant a pumpkin seed at the beginning of the new school year, depending on the variety, it might produce a pumpkin in time for Halloween. Imagine growing your own Jack-o-lantern! Potatoes are another plant that would be great to watch in the fall. It can start producing tubers and then stay dormant through the winter and continue growing in the spring. This would be a terrific way to see how some plants are fast growing and others are slow growing. It would also help kids to see that some plants produce underground. Activities For Learning About PlantsHere are some different activities that you might like to try during your study of the plant life cycle. 1. Take an empty dvd case and put a bit of soil in it. Place a bean seed in the soil and moisten the seed and soil. Close up the case and place it near a window. Watch as the seed begins to sprout and produce roots. When it is about to produce leaves, remove it from the dvd case and plant it in a pot of soil. Continue to add water and watch it as it grows into a plant. Transplant it into the garden and continue to watch as the beans appear. 2. Put a potato that has sprouts (eyes) growing out of it into a large pot with some soil. Water it and watch it as it begins to produce leaves. Take note of the tubers when you transplant it into a garden area or larger pot. The kids will be amazed to see small potatoes growing underground. 3. Gather seeds from different fruits and vegetables and dry them. Plant them in the spring and watch to see which ones grow into new plants. Do experiments to see what happens when you add too much water, not enough water, not enough sunlight, etc. 4. Do art activities to show how the life cycle works and the various stages a seed goes through before it becomes a mature plant. For example: Cut out shapes from construction paper to represent each of the stages of the life cycle and make a life cycle mobile. Write on each shape which stage of the plant life cycle it represents. With these plant life cycle activities, your students are sure to have a blast while learning about plants! Plant Life Cycle ResourcesHere are some resources that I created to help with studying various plant life cycles. They include worksheets about plant needs, the life cycle of the plant, and types of plants. Each resource also includes an observation journal for that plant. You can check them out by clicking the images below. Teaching plant life cycle activities are not only fun, but they're also educational. They help kids learn about the different stages of plant growth and development. They also learn about where our food comes from, how different animals rely on plants for survival, and the important role that plants play in our ecosystem. By incorporating plant life cycle activities into your lesson plans, you can help your students learn about these important concepts in a fun and engaging way. Plus, they'll always remember the time when they got to watch their very own plants grow! Have fun watching the wonder in your students' eyes as they observe their tiny seeds sprout and become plants. Related PostTips For Planning Ahead To A New School YearIt may seem crazy for some teachers to be talking about preparing for the new school year so soon, but for other teachers, your summer break is already half over. If you are anything like me, your mind is already thinking about how the new year might look, what you want to do in your classroom to make it fresh for your students and yourself, and what resources and materials you might want to start gathering. You may even be thinking about ways you will build classroom community and set up the rules and routines. Here are 6 tips and ideas that can help you prepare for a successful year. 1. Give your classroom a fresh lookChanging up your classroom arrangement and giving it a fresh look can help you to feel refreshed and ready to begin a new year. In our district, we get our former students for the first week of school as the numbers are tallied and the classes are formed. Even though we try to organize things before school ends for the year, there are always changes in the fall. New students come, some students move away, some go to online instruction, etc. These all affect the numbers and how they are distributed throughout the grades. Once the classes are organized, kids are moved into their new classrooms. Usually, some remain because of all the split grades. Changing up the room and giving them special roles help them to feel like they are important and not missing out. Do you change up how the room looks or add a new decor to your room? If you are looking at adding some color to your room, you might want to check out my rainbow set. It has many different elements in it to make your classroom look cheerful and ready for a new year. I have created an English and a French version so that it will work in French Immersion or core French classrooms as well. 2. Use ice breakers to build classroom communityBuilding a classroom community will help with gaining trust and respect in the group. This is an important part of creating a caring and successful learning climate for the students. There are many different ways to build community. We will look more at this another time, but for now, here are a couple of ice breaker type ideas that might help with getting started. Getting to know each other is an important part of developing class community, so I like to do many different group activities and partner games to mix up the kids and help them to learn to work together with others. Here are a couple of the activities I have used in the past along with a twist to make it a bit different. Find Someone Who Find Someone Who is a well-known icebreaker that is used in various forms. This is my newest version. It is more extensive and can be used for getting to know classmates better. There are interview questions for the 5W and there is also a game component where teams can work together to guess who the person interviewed was. Check it out by clicking the image. If you would prefer a simplified version that is a fast icebreaker, I have made another version that just asks a couple of questions. Click the image to get your free copy. inside/outside circles Choose a topic and have the one circle share with the person they are facing. Then switch roles. This is a great way to learn information about several others as you can continue to have one circle move so that the partners keep changing. You can ask the same question multiple times or you can change up the questions to find out more information. Choose questions that will guide the conversations to learning more about the class members. Ipad glyphs Here is a great way to combine getting to know each other and math. Each glyph has different information on it depending on the likes and interests of the person creating it. After the glyphs are completed, many different questions can be asked for analyzing the data. 3. Have some classroom management strategies plannedClassroom management is an important part of teaching. There needs to be some sort of classroom routine, structure, or rules that are agreed upon in order for good learning to happen. These can be given, mutually developed, or a combination of the two, but they should be established during the first few days so that they can be practiced and followed as soon as possible. I found that using a t-chart for creating some of these routines worked well. Here are some that I used. Classroom rules and manners posters can also help to remind the kids of expectations. Here are some that I created for the primary classroom. There are a couple of different patterns available as well as a black and white version if you prefer. 4. Have some quick and easy activities readyThere are often times during the first few days when you are trying to adjust to getting back into the school routine that you may be scrambling to fill in a few minutes here and there. If you have some quick and easy activities or brain break games ready, you can just grab one of them to use. This will also help to avoid confusion, management situations, and it will help to keep the kids engaged. 5. Remember to have some funThe temptation may be to get started on academics right away, but remember that both you and the kids need to get back into a routine. It is important to make sure that you keep the fun in the activities and interject the academics in a way that isn't too intense as you do review or introduce new topics. Taking some time at the beginning to review and engage with your students will pay off later on. 6. Make sure to take care of yourselfThis is actually one of the most important tips I want to share with you. If you want to be able to get through the next year without burnout and stress, it is important to focus on self care. Every year we seem to forget how tiring it is to start a new school year. Teacher tired the first few weeks of school is real. Make sure that you are getting lots of rest. Take some time for you. Don't just focus on your job. Even if it is only a few minutes a day, do something for you that will help you to de-stress and relax. These are just a few ideas to think about as you leave school for your summer break or as you continue to enjoy your summer holiday. Next week I will talk more about back to school ideas and setting your year up for success. Until then, continue to enjoy your summer break. You deserve it. Related PostsUsing Experiments To Practice The Scientific MethodLast week I shared the scientific method and the steps involved in it. This week I would like to share 3 fun and easy experiments kids can try that use the scientific method. String TelephonesThis is a fun experiment that lets kids create telephones and then test them out. I did it with my grandsons last weekend and they really enjoyed it. The oldest one did the worksheets and the younger two just played with the phones. We didn't have all the different types of containers, but we did do two different types and we tried 3 different string lengths. Check out the photos below. If you are interested in finding out more, check out the preview for the resource. Click on the image to go to the resource. Are You A Rectangle Or A Square?This activity is actually a measurement activity that I did with my classes. It was a great way to learn more about measuring, while using the scientific method and investigating in a scientific way. I used it as a math activity for my student led conferences a couple of times as well. The kids were excited to see if their parents were rectangles or squares. Find out more by clicking the image below. The Clink Clunk TestIf you want to surprise your kids, try this gravity experiment. They will be amazed to learn that the weight of the objects doesn't determine which will land first. It is also interesting for them to see how a crumpled ball of paper and a single sheet of paper react differently. Sign up for my newsletter and get your free copy of The Clink-Clunk Test. These are only 3 of many different experiments that can be done using the scientific method. The more comfortable your students get with using this scientific process, the easier it will be to examine and investigate different things they wish to learn more about. If you would like to get your own copy of the scientific method along with the worksheets that accompany the poster, click the image below. Have fun trying out the above experiments and many more as your students explore the wonders around them. Related Posts |
About Me Charlene Sequeira
I am a wife, mother of 4, grandmother of 9, and a retired primary and music teacher. I love working with kids and continue to volunteer at school and teach ukulele. Categories
All
|