Monday, April 11, 2016

Earth Day Ideas + Writing Prompt Freebie

Earth day is coming up on April 22nd, 2016. This is a great time for us to teach our students how the little choices they make can make a huge difference for the environment. A few years ago to celebrate
Earth Day, my school held a school wide "Campus Beautification Day".  Each grade level was assigned a section of the school building or the grounds to clean.  My class picked up litter on a large area of the school field.  This allowed my students to see the effects that littering had on their school environment as well as how their clean up efforts could also greatly effect the school environment.  

Even if your school does not hold a school-wide Earth Day celebration, you can organize a smaller clean-up project for your class to complete. We asked parents to donate garbage bags and work gloves for the students to borrow for the day. 

To get your students thinking about how they can help the Earth I made up these Earth Day Writing Prompt Cards. There are 8 cards with writing prompts as well as a printable Earth Day writing sheet. You can use these as a center, for fast-finishers or as a no-prep whole class writing activity during the month of April.

What will you be doing with your class to celebrate Earth Day?  Let me know in the comments below.

Thursday, March 10, 2016

The Power of Positive Parent Communication

Some of the best advice I got as a new teacher was to make sure that I had a positive contact with each student's parent during the first few weeks of the school year. Every year that I have taught I have tried to follow this advice and it has made a huge difference in my classroom community!

I tried to take my positive parent communication a step further by have a positive contact with each students parent, each month.  Did I make this goal ever month? Of course not! However, I was able to reach out to most parents at least every other month.

I cannot stress enough what a huge positive change I saw in my classroom community I increased my positive contacts with parents.  I noticed a change in my teaching because I was actively looking for positive aspects of each student that I could write home about. I began to see more positive behavior and positive character traits in my classroom because I was looking for them!

I saw a change in my students each time I sent a note home.  They were excited to share their successes with their parents. They were excited that I had noticed a positive act they didn't think anyone saw. This change was the most dramatic in my students who struggled academically or socially.  In their minds, school was a place where they could not succeed.  Each time I shared a success they had at school that day with their parents, it helped the students begin to shift their view on school.

Tips for Implementing Positive Parent Communication in Your Classroom:

1. Keep it simple!-You have enough to do as it is. A simple note, email or short phone call is fine. If you have pick-up or drop-off duty you can also use this time share a positive experience in-person.

2. Keep track!- I printed off a class list and used it to keep track to the dates I had a positive communication with each parent.  Writing down my communications made it easy to check if I had missed someone.

3. Have a set time for positive parent communication each week.- Schedule out just five or ten minutes each week to write out a few notes or emails.  If you get in the habit of using the same block of time each week you will be more consistent with your parent communication.

4. Focus on the whole child.- Remember you should not be only communicating about academic achievements!  Development of positive character traits, and positive behavior should also be communicated to parents.

What are your ideas for using positive parent communication in the classroom?  Chime-in in the comments below.