BACK TO SCHOOL PLANNING TIPS AND A FREEBIE!

The sun is shining. Summer is upon us. Back to school is a distant reality. But, what if you could prolong your relaxation? The back-to-school season can be both exciting and overwhelming. To set the stage for a successful year, careful planning is crucial. Let me help!

Here are 5 essential tips to help you with your back-to-school planning (And a FREEBIE!):

1. Create a Schedule: 

Start by noting down important dates, such as the first day of school, holidays, and reporting deadlines. Allocate specific time slots for curricular units and topics. This roadmap or pacing guide will help you maintain a clear vision of the overall progression of the school year, ensuring a cohesive and logical flow of instruction. 

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2. Establish Classroom Procedures and Expectations:

Set clear and consistent classroom procedures and expectations from the first day of school. Communicate these guidelines to your students and discuss them openly. Establish routines for transitions, materials management, and classroom behaviour. 

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3. Organize Classroom Materials and Resources:

Determine what materials and resources are needed. Think about where things will be stored, how students will access needed materials, and how will they submit their work. Arrange student desks, bulletin boards, and small group instruction to maximize functionality and promote a visually appealing environment. Designate areas of the classroom for certain activities to ensure smooth transitions. Label and store supplies, books, and instructional materials in a logical manner for easy accessibility throughout the year.

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4. Develop Assessment Strategies:

Devise a variety of assessment strategies to gauge student progress and inform your instructional decisions. Plan formative assessments such as quizzes, discussions, and observations, as well as summative assessments like tests and projects. Create checklists and forms which will document student progress.

                                                                      

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5. Plan for Self-Care: 

Remember that taking care of yourself is just as important as academic success. Prioritize self-care activities such as exercise, healthy eating, and sufficient sleep. Incorporate relaxation techniques like meditation or hobbies into your routine to help reduce stress. Plan regular breaks during the week to recharge and avoid burnout. 

FREEBIE

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With planning, you can kick-start the new school year on a positive note. Best of luck in the upcoming school year!  

Back To School Games and Activities

Struggling to know what to do first days Back to School?! Those first days of school are so important! It is time to get to know everyone and building a classroom community.  I thought I would share some of my favourite back to school fun in my ready-to-go resource! 

Games and activities are perfect for making connections, establishing expectations, and building a community. Encourage your students to share about themselves with icebreakers, all about me and getting to know you activities. 

Click here to view the resource!

Launch Reader's Workshop with these Back To School Resources!

Prepare for Back to School with great picture books! The Launching Reading series helps students ease back into school and help kickstart your readers workshop. Each resource features a picture book and a reading skill. Teach reading skills such as fluency, vocabulary, goal setting, book discussions, self-selection of books, and comprehension. And that is not all - each resource includes not only a reading skill focus, but a presentation, discussion prompts, comprehension questions, and activities.

The bundle features all of the Launching Reading resources to help guide the beginning of your readers' workshop. Students can complete the activities digitally or in writing!

Back To School Prepping - Freebie #4

It's Fri-YAY! Today is the fourth and last freebie offering to help you prep for Back to School!

The previous freebies, Teacher Storage Labels and Student Data Sheets, can still be downloaded!

Today, I want to offer you help with prepping your writing units.  When planning, I like to have students complete a pre-assessment or an initial writing sample so I can determine what they already know, what concepts are developing, and what needs to be addressed. I then refer to my curriculum guide to determine what needs to be taught. Through the initial writing samples and the curriculum guide, I create a pacing guide.

The pacing guide is used then to create detailed instructional sessions (lesson plans).  I think about what I want the students to be able to do, how they work towards that goal, and how will I know if they have achieved the concept.

Wow! This is quite a process. To help you think about the possibilities of what to teach, today's freebie shares session topics or lists of important things for students to notice about each mode of writing. In addition, I have supplied a list of mentor texts for each mode of writing. Mentor texts serve to show, not just tell, students how to write well. Mentor texts help learners notice things about an author’s work that is unlike anything they might have done before, and empower them to try something new.

I hope you enjoy today's freebie. To download, please click on the link, Planning Guide with Mentor Texts and Writing Concepts, or the image below. PLEASE leave a comment to let me know if the freebies have been useful!

Back To School Prepping - Freebie #3

School preparation takes a toll on a teacher's summer fun. I want to help you take back your summer.  In the last post, I showed how I organize my students' data folders and offered two freebies.

Due to requests for how I organize my materials, I have focused this post on the organization of my teaching material. Organizing my materials took a long time as I wrestled with container size, labelling, and organizing my materials within the container for quick retrieval.  

I finally settled on the Sterilite 38 L container pictured below. The container holds:

1. Binders - which are tabbed per session. Each session includes a daily overview and materials for the minilesson, individual task, and group share. Each detailed session plan is stored digitally, so I do not file a print copy.
2. Hanging File Folders - which are labelled per big curricular outcome. In each folder, I place games and other station materials related to that outcome.
3. Books - which are picture books that I use as mentor texts in sessions.

I affix a label to the outside of the container using a self-laminating photo sheet. The sheets can be purchases through Amazon, but I often find them at the local Dollar Store.

Today's freebie are the labels I affix to my containers. I have added my math labels, as well as my holiday labels. Click on the link or the image below to grab your freebie. PLEASE post your feedback regarding this freebie! Thank you!

Back to School Prepping - Freebie #1 and #2

Prepping for back to school is TIME-CONSUMING! I want to help!

During the next week, I will offer FREE things that will make back to school easier and allow more time during the summer to relax and soak up the sun.

Assessment Folder

Consider prepping your assessment data sheets prior to school opening.

I have a hanging folder for each student and then I place their data sheets in the folder using a two inch binder ring. This allows me to add data during interviews, conferences, or reports from outside agencies quickly and easily.

Each student folder has the following components:

1. Cover - which the students colour and label with their name
2. Word Work Section
   - Morrison McCall Data Sheet
   - Dolch Word Recording Sheet
3. Reading
   - Fountas and Pinnell Recording Sheet
   - Reading Snapshot - Comprehension
   - Reading Snapshot - Fluency
   - Fluency Recording Sheet
4. Writing
   - Writing Snapshot
   - Writing Checklist - Narrative
   - Writing Checklist - Informational
   - Writing Checklist - Persuasive
5. Mathematics
   - Diagnostic Testing Recording Sheet
   - Fact Fluency Data Sheet

Grab today's freebies by clicking on the link or the image - Fountas and Pinnell Recording Sheet and Morrison McCall Data Sheet.  PLEASE leave a comment about the freebies! I hope these freebies are helpful!