Skip to main content

Classroom Happenings: Library Orientation and Finished Bulletin Board!

Tuesday we had library orientation, and it was awesome! My classes were the first group of the year to get in the library, and I felt like they devoured it. Each student walked away with at least one book, if not three, and wrote other books down on their "Books to Consider" sheet. They were really great about asking for recommendations, and overall it was a very positive experience for everyone!

Remember my bulletin board?


It's finally finished! To finish it up I asked students to write a Six-Word Memoir about Reading. Here were the rules:

It must be positive
It must be EXACTLY six words
It needs to be BIG
You must put your first and last name at the end.

They wrote these on large index cards, and then I folded them in half to look like little books. I stapled them to the bulletin board.  :)




This week we have open house, which is always nerve wracking for me. Not because I am afraid of parents, but because I feel like I have so much to share, and less than ten minutes to do it. I also feel like I talk too fast, and then I forget important things or stumble over my words and feel like a dolt. I'm glad parents will get to see what their kids wrote about reading on the bulletin board at least :)

I had this idea that I liked, but I didn't end up doing it.
Stations with Presentation Boards: I thought it would be cool to have each class make a presentation board and allow parents to walk around independently, but the AP hubster thought it might not be a good idea, because parents are there to meet me. (He is so smart) :)

I'm at a loss. I don't want to do a power point, but I don't really know what else to do. Suggestions?? (Welcomed, Appreciated, and Needed!)



Comments

  1. You could create stations around the room with varying information or maybe a video of you introducing yourself projecting in the background the whole time. This would free you up to talk to parents in smaller groups so you can put faces with names.

    I just came across your blog today and have to say that I LOVE it! I'm also in the western burbs, so when I saw that, I instantly started stalking your old posts. Happy to be your newest follower!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Open House gives me hives!!=)

    ReplyDelete
  3. It's good that you write about it on your blog.
    Karina

    ReplyDelete
  4. Its like you read my mind! You seem to know a lot about this, like you wrote the book in it or something. I think that you can do with a few pics to drive the message home a bit, but instead of that, this is excellent blog. A great read. I’ll definitely be back.

    온라인카지노
    카지노

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have express a few of the articles on your website now, and I really like your style of blogging. I added it to my favorite’s blog site list and will be checking back soon…

    토토
    먹튀검증

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for stopping by! JW

Popular posts from this blog

Before the School Year Begins...

I decided that before I can start posting about what I'm doing this year, I needed to share some of my favorite strategies from last year that went really well with the students. I was completely inspired by Kelly Gallagher after reading devouring all of his books at the beginning of the school year! I had the opportunity to go to a Kelly Gallagher workshop at Judson this spring, and it was absolutely amazing! He was so nice when I went up to him (I was terrified and starstruck), and even wrote "You're Welcome" on this piece of paper, because my students actually asked me to THANK HIM for changing the way we read novels in class.  Students + asked me + to say thank you to an author + about school stuff = UTOPIA! Here are some of my abbreviated notes from the day: His TOP Points: Kids should write 4X more than you can physically grade  Students suffer from word poverty. Must get students reading more in order to be exposed to vocabulary. We ne

RAK Classroom Kit + Enjoy the Magic of The Holidays at Oakbrook Center!

Last week The Middle School Mob hosted a FB Live Holiday Hop, and I shared how I do a RAK (Random Acts of Kindness) activity with my students during the holiday season . This was my first time doing a FB live and I had so much fun! You can check out the RAK Classroom Kit here If you live in the Chicagoland area and want to have a fun family outing this Christmas season, be sure to check out my post over at Modest House, Extraordinary Home ! Save Save Save Save

Writing Notebook: Finishing up "Write Ideas" and first Invitation: AAAWWUBBIS!

Happy Monday!! Today I am continuing on with the Writer's Notebook! Last time I left off, students had just finished their "100 Things I Love". After that, students completed their writing territories, which I got from Nancie Atwell's book   Lessons That Change Writers.  We spent the first day discussing writing territories out loud, going through the list in detail, so that students had ideas of what to write about. I told them to think of it like the caption for a picture. One to two sentences that could become something more. Students had to complete this for homework. We also completely numbered our table of contents so that we could add in sections and start working in other parts of the notebook.  Students wrote their writing territories on these pages. Then we moved on to the Writer's Eye (I). Students had to place terms that described them within their "I" or around their "Eye". I created my o