What the Teacher Wants!

Parent Volunteers

I love my parent volunteers! At the beginning of the year, the parents are able to pick a time to come in to the classroom and work with students or do miscellaneous projects to help me each week. I just want to show you how I organize what I want them to do. I keep the items (lamination cut outs, cutting projects, or testing materials) in bins organized by days of the week. If a parent comes in on a Monday he/she can check the Monday bin to see if there is any work for them to do right when they come in. Sometimes I don't have anything in there, that means I have something more specific for them to do.

I also have volunteers who help from home. I send home a "work bag" with something I need for them to help me with. I include all the supplies needed with a note explaining what I need them to do and when I need it back to school by. I usually give them at least a week. Then on my own personal spreadsheet I have all of my at home volunteers on a list. I make sure to mark by their name what I sent home and when it is due. This ensures the parent doesn't forget to send it in and I make sure that I am not sending home tons of stuff with just one parent.

Work bag

Management Monday!

Every Monday we are going to post a couple of tips on management ideas (motivators, positive reinforcements, transitions, etc). Here is my tip today- I actually just started this class motivator with my class this week because I wanted something different.
I got it from another fellow teacher/blogger at First Grader at Last!

Brownie Points......I LOVE it and it is a great twist on the good old marble jar! I always make sure to have a motivator for each part of the classroom: *individual, *table, *and whole class. This is for the WHOLE CLASS! Just buy a regular old cookie sheet and attach magnet tape to the back, and then stick it to your white board. Anytime the class as a whole are doing a great job by listening, following directions, being responsible, finishing their work, working quietly, etc.... you can give them a "brownie". When they fill up the whole tray they can pick from the mystery envelope (which I would have taped to the bottom of the tray for a great mystery). The students can earn extra recess, lunch with the teacher, popcorn party, or an afternoon movie. What do you think? Let me know by leaving a comment.

You can find the brownie download {here}.

Current Events

I think that it is very important for my 5th graders to be up to date on the current issues facing our country. The best way I have found to do this is by showing my students a 10 minute daily news program called CNN Student News.

You can stream the program straight from the internet, but I prefer to use iTunes to download the daily podcast. It's simple to download: Open up your iTunes, go to the iTunes Store, type in CNN Student News, and download the current episode. It's completely free!

I have shown this program for 4 years, and think it has a great impact on my students and their knowledge of current events and important issues facing America. Over the years, my students have been up to date on all the important events; like the 2008 Presidential Election, the Earthquake in Haiti, and most recently, the miners in Chile.

I recommend this program to all 5th grade students and above. It helps students become more aware of their country, helps meet state curriculum standards, and overall makes them better American citizens.

Free Stuff!

Every teacher likes free stuff, right?! Have you ever thought what you’d like to get for your classroom if you could afford it? Would it be technology? Books? Or even just some extra basic supplies? Read on to find out how you can get free materials for your classroom.

I was introduced to this awesome website about four years ago. Since then, I have received a total of 5 (FIVE!) grants from this website. The best part about it: IT'S SUPER EASY! It honestly takes me an evening, just a couple hours, to write a whole grant.

Sometimes when I share this information with teachers, their reply is, “I don’t have time for things like that,” or, “It seems too complicated,” or even, “No one would donate to me.” But honestly, take it from someone who has received almost 25 hundred dollars in materials for my classroom, it is not too difficult.

Here are the steps:

1.Go to www.donorschoose.com:

2. Sign up for a teacher account

Click create a project
Click get started

3. Write your proposal

Create a name for your project
Go shopping
Follow the prompts to write your essay (a series of questions that help explain what you need and why you need it)

4. Press submit

Then all you have to do is wait until someone donates money to fund your project. (Sometimes it takes up to 6 months for a project to be funded. Don't get discouraged if it doesn't get funded right away.)

Here are the projects that I have had funded: