Behavior and Work Habit Tips - Winter theme

A change in weather can change your students' behavior and work habits. When that happens, it is time to try something new.

Do your students ask you questions about something you just finished explaining in step-by-step detail? When you notice this happening, change how you ask for your students' attention.

Most of the attention getters that teachers typically use are verbal.  Try using a noise maker like a train whistle when your class has seasonal wiggles.  You can find whistles like the ones in the picture at stores like Dollar Tree, Michaels, or Hobby Lobby.

Your class may become talkative during the change in climate.  Try planning more partner or group activities.  Yes, they are still talking, but you are choosing the topic of their discussions.  You can pick partners or groups using seasonal shapes like the snowflakes in the picture above.  Each shape represents one group or partner set. Cut the shape into the same number of students you plan to have in each group.  Pass out the pieces and give your students time to find their partners or group members.  Extra bonus with this activity is it works as a wiggle break.

Have you lost some of the pieces to a set of calendar numbers or small shapes?  You can repurpose them into a classroom management tool.  Put the pieces in a bag or box.  Let your students draw one out of the bag or box before you begin a lesson.  You can use the shapes and calendar numbers when you want to form cooperative groups: (example)

• Green trees will meet in the library corner.
• Snowflake #1-6 will meet near the computer center.
• Mittens will meet by the math center.

Change in season means a change in work habits.  You may find more incomplete assignments and work turned in that is less-than-the-best quality work.  You can motivate your students with this quick and easy way to showcase top quality work.  A string of twine with clothes pins is the quickest way to do this.  You can add this in your classroom or hallway.  

There is something magical about Scratch 'n sniff stickers.  Add one to the papers you display and all of your students will want to have their assignment featured there.

What do you do when the seasons change your students' behavior?

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Patterns, Word Chunks, Making Words, and More!

Patterns are everywhere or so it seems. Patterns was one of my favorite lessons because I would often see my students making patterns in other creative ways. I've had students arrange their crayons in patterns before they would begin working on an assignment.  Another student arranged magnetic letters on a board in a pattern.  He told another student it was an eye test and he was the eye doctor.  He told his friend he needed to stand a little bit away from him and read the letters. Great way to practice letter identification and patterns at the same time!

Patterns in words, word families or chunks, are an important part of reading.  Students love of patterns make this an effective reading strategy.  I was always looking for some new idea or activity to use.  The picture at the top was one my students enjoyed.  It is opened-ended which I liked.  I cut fabric in 6" X 6" squares.  You can find remnants of fabric at Wal-Mart or fabric stores for a few dollars. Or you can ask your parents for donations.  I cut white construction paper 12" X 6" and folded it in half.  Students would choose a fabric square and clip it to the left side of the construction paper (opened up).  They would repeat the pattern on fabric on the right half of the paper.  Unclip the fabric and fold the paper in half.  The colorful half is the cover of the card/assignment, open and write _____ (open-ended assignment).  Sometimes I had them write words from the word family that we were studying.  Other times I had them look in a book to see how many words that included our word family that they could find.  They wrote those in this.

During small group, magnetic letters are a great way to demonstrate word families. The only issue I had with this was a lack of supplies at some of my schools.

This was my solution to not having enough magnetic letters.  I don't know its official name.  My students called it "the hotdog game" because when you picked it up and turned it upside down it looked like a hotdog bun.

BENEFIT: 

• I was comfortable sending it home for homework for additional practice.  
• I cut out different colors for vowels than consonants.  Many times magnetic letters come in a variety of colors.  

These are a little time consuming to make.  I would recommend finding a parent volunteer to make a class set if that is your plan.  If you only need enough for a small group lesson then you can easily do those.

You can either use file folders or cardstock.  I cut my cardstock in half.  Two hotdog games per sheet of cardstock.  Fold it in half.  Fold and staple on the end to make the pocket for the letters.

It helps to give students extra practice after their small group lesson.  The making words assignment in the picture is a perfect activity for this.  After looking for chunks in the word at the bottom of the page, they cut the letters apart. I tell students to separate the vowels and consonants because every word has a vowel.  Then take one vowel and try to make as many words as possible with it.  Later they can put the vowels together.  

The seasonal soundboxes are a freebie.  I found the erasers at Target's Dollar Spot.

There are also other assignments with the making words file that you can use for enrichment or with your early finishers.

Are resources limited at your school? One of my favorite places to find resources are thrift stores.  Many times you can repurpose "treasures" you find there.  The scribbage game in the picture is from 1963.  It cost $1.99.  Scrabble Jr. was $2.99 and the Letter Symbol Tiles was $1.99.  All great deals that have a variety of uses.

Have you found any treasures at a thrift store?

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