A Teaching Blog by Jodi Southard
Are you officially done with school? Our students finished up 2 weeks ago, but it is just now feeling like summer break. Without a “true closure” to the school year, it was definitely a weird ending. This week, I will be mailing my students this summer riddle page along with a note, just to touch base.
Click on the picture above to grab this FREE Summer Riddle page.
You may also want to check out this Summer Challenge.
How are you handling this distance learning thing? Now, that it is getting close to the end of the school year, I have to admit, I am getting more and more upset about how this year will be ending. I LOVE the end of the school year, and not only because it will be summer. I miss our ABC countdown, Mothers & Fathers Day celebrations, field day, end of the year party, and so much more. But, it is what it is, and I am trying to make the best of it.
Last weekend, I drove to each of my students’ homes and gave them a little gift. It was so amazing to see all of them, from 6 feet away. Each bag included the book, The Very Impatient Caterpillar, a pencil, bubbles, candy, a poem, and a flat Mrs. Southard.
I wanted to share the end of the year poem and note with you for FREE. I included two different versions of each, just to give you options. Click HERE to download.
And…I’m pretty sure that I probably should have sent home the pajama, messy bun, and slipper version of myself instead, because let’s be honest, that is DEFINITELY more real life right now 😉
I hope that your distance learning is going well.
Over the past couple of weeks, I have been working on making Digital Task Cards through the Boom Learning™ platform, and I am now obsessed with them! I love them all, but I am particularly fond of my reading comprehension based cards.
These Text Evidence cards are perfect for beginning readers working on going back into their text to find answers.
The students have to read each sentence. Then, they type in the answers to the comprehension questions and drag the picture into the box to show where they found their answers. The best part about these cards, is that if you sign up for a Boom Learning™ account, you can see how each child did and track their data.
I have also created two different Reading Comprehension sets that are perfect for more fluent readers. The students have to read a short reading passage and click on the correct answers. Each card also has a vocabulary question.
I have both sets bundled together to give you 30 self-checking digital task cards in all or each set can be purchased separately.
Did you know that Boom cards can also be used in Google Classroom and Seesaw, which makes them perfect for Distance Learning? I have included the directions in all of my previews and products to help you out.
Click here to check out ALL of my Boom Task Cards.
Are there other sets that you would like to see me create? Any other questions that you have about Boom cards? Let me know.
Are your kids restless yet? Yesterday was rough. It was gloomy and cold, and we couldn’t get outside. At least the sun has come out on and off today, so we were able to be outside for a bit.
With all the chaos going on right now, I knew that I wanted to create something for parents to use with their own kids at home during this extended period of time.
These Brain Break Tic Tac Toe boards will be perfect for not only my own kids, but others that may need to get up and moving. Parents can play with their child or siblings can play together.
The best news is that they are completely FREE!
I created this with 3 different versions. The first one includes Tic-Tac-Toe games with quick exercises to complete. The second version includes longer activities to stretch out throughout the day. The third version is completely editable for you to add your own activities.
I hope that this helps to keep your little ones busy at home. Also, teachers, feel free to email this file to parents of students in your classroom 🙂
Feel free to pin the picture below for later use and to spread the word.
We have definitely seen where tough times bring out the best in people, and this pandemic has shown us that all over again. With schools closing, teachers and parents everywhere are scrambling to figure out how to make this all work. It has been truly amazing to see teachers and educational companies come together to help.
I have received so many emails from companies over the last couple of days that are offering their online services for FREE, and I wanted to put together a list for you. Some of these sites are always free, while others have add-ons or are free for a certain time period.
I have also made this “clickable” to allow you to go directly to each website. Just click on the picture above to download the clickable PDF.
Teachers and parents, we are in this together! Stay positive and stay healthy!
My main goal each year is to establish strong teacher-student relationships. Building these relationships will make the entire school year go much more smoothly. Even though most of your relationships are pretty established by mid-year, they can always continue to improve. For this reason, I held a 5-Day Challenge on my Instagram. These simple tasks were easy to implement each day.
Here are each of the five challenges in case you missed it, or you want to start implementing these now.
The first challenge is to greet EVERY single student as they come into your classroom every day.
I know that many of you already do this, but it is always a good reminder. The mornings can be especially busy, and it is easy to get distracted as more and more students come into your room.
Make it a point today to greet every student using their name.
Make eye contact as you welcome each child into your classroom.
You could give a high five, a hug, a handshake, or just a smile. Whatever works best for you and your students.
The second challenge is to have a REAL conversation with every student. I know that I am guilty of going through a day and realizing that I never really had a conversation with each student, especially those quiet students that can easily fade into the background.
If you need to, make a list of all of your students and check off their name after you have had a true, meaningful, interaction with them. You may be surprised at how easily it is to let some of your students slip by and go all day without you actually talking to them as an individual.
Some easy ideas include; complimenting their shirt, asking them what they had for dinner last night, discussing a favorite book, etc.
This goes well with the last challenge. You may have found some of your conversations with your students to be forced or all one sided with you doing all the talking. This is especially true for our shy students. I want you to ask every student a question related to their interests. Some examples are, “How is basketball going? Are you excited about your next game?” “How is your new puppy?” “How was recess today? What did you play? Who did you play with?”
Again, if it is easier for you, make a list of your students and check them off as you have these conversations.
Your students truly want to know that you care about them and that you listen to them. Really get to know their interests and learn more about them.
This is one that I have really been working on. Try to give each student specific positive feedback. I want to emphasize “specific.” Just telling a student, “Good job!” will not cut it. If a child does not know what it is that they are doing a good job at, the feedback will not serve its purpose. We need to be really specific if we want that behavior or motivation to continue.
“Wow, Mary. Your handwriting is beautiful today!”
“Jack, I love how found the answer to that questions by going back into your book.”
“Table 4 has done a fantastic job of getting their books opened quickly to page 12.”
This one will be a little more time consuming, so stretch it out over the next couple of days if needed. Make positive contact with each of your students’ families. I like to write a letter and mail it home, but you could also send a text, a message through Remind, or whatever app you use, or make a phone call.
Do NOT use this contact as a lead in to discuss a problem. Truly just make this a completely positive interaction. Let their families know something specific that their child has done that has been positive. (Increasing their reading level, something funny they said, a nice thing they did for a classmate, etc.)
Want to keep the conversations going? You may want to check out these two products.
I’d love to hear how your 5-Day Challenge went. Remember to pin this post as a good reminder for the beginning of each school year as well.
