Fun in First

A Teaching Blog by Jodi Southard

Classroom

Construction Day Classroom Transformation

by 1 Comment

I love doing classroom transformations!  They are a great way to keep interest levels up.  The students are engaged throughout the day, and they are making memories that last a lifetime.  These are the types of things that my students remember from 1st grade.  I am WAY TOO BUSY to spend a lot of time on these classroom transformations, and I’m sure that you are as well.  That’s why I keep them very simple.  I promise you that you can transform your classroom in no time at all.

Do you need to spice up your teaching? Transform your classroom into a Construction Site for the day with this Construction Day packet. Your students will love completing construction themed academic tasks. Students will work on reading, math, and writing throughout the day.This post contains affiliate links. I earn a small commission each time someone makes a purchase through one of my links, which helps to support the blog.

 

How to set up your classroom.

It really does not take too many supplies to transform your classroom.  I had already purchased some of these items for one of my son’s birthday parties a couple years ago.

Do you need to spice up your teaching? Transform your classroom into a Construction Site for the day with this Construction Day packet. Your students will love completing construction themed academic tasks. Students will work on reading, math, and writing throughout the day.

The only thing that I purchase each year are the tablecloths and the construction hats.  Everything else, I keep and reuse year and year.

When my students come in, I play this YouTube video of construction sounds to add to the effect.  I place a Construction Day coloring page on their desk along with a construction hat.

What do we do on Construction Day

We rotate through Construction themed stations for most of the day.  I use the items in my Construction Day Classroom Transformation packet.

Do you need to spice up your teaching? Transform your classroom into a Construction Site for the day with this Construction Day packet. Your students will love completing construction themed academic tasks. Students will work on reading, math, and writing throughout the day.We rotate through these academic stations:

  • Sentence Builder – Students pull out a noun, verb, and adjective, and a sentence using all three words.
  • Project Poetry – Students cut out the sentence strips to create a poem.
  • Constructing Numbers – Students make creations with Base-10 blocks.
  • Awesome Architect – Students build 3-dimensional shapes using toothpicks and marshmallows.
  • Detailed Designer – Students design their dream bedroom.
  • Sentence Renovation – Students unscramble words to make sentences.

 

Do you need to spice up your teaching? Transform your classroom into a Construction Site for the day with this Construction Day packet. Your students will love completing construction themed academic tasks. Students will work on reading, math, and writing throughout the day.We also discuss some construction vocabulary and complete other tasks throughout the day.

 

 

Do you need to spice up your teaching? Transform your classroom into a Construction Site for the day with this Construction Day packet. Your students will love completing construction themed academic tasks. Students will work on reading, math, and writing throughout the day.With a little prep and planning, these days are easy to pull off and SO WORTH IT!  So many people shy away from classroom transformations because they get overwhelmed.  It is amazing what some Dollar Tree tablecloths can do to add to the excitement and engagement for the day.

 

If you want to try a Construction Day Classroom Transformation in your classroom, check out my packet in my Teachers Pay Teachers Store.  The packet includes ideas for transforming your classroom for a Construction Day, station labels, stations, ABC Order, word search, vocabulary, and more.  It truly is a fun-filled day of learning.  Click on the picture below to head over to my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

Do you need to spice up your teaching? Transform your classroom into a Construction Site for the day with this Construction Day packet. Your students will love completing construction themed academic tasks. Students will work on reading, math, and writing throughout the day.

The Importance of Morning Meeting

by Leave a Comment

Do you have a morning meeting routine in your classroom? When I started implementing morning meetings, I started off slow and added small pieces here and there. After many years of having a morning meeting in my first grade classroom, I’m sold! And so are my students! They look forward to our special time together in the mornings. 

What is a morning meeting?

Morning meetings are a great time to greet your students, have share time, and do some fun activities to start the day off on the right foot! While all meetings don’t have to look and feel exactly the same, the focus of a morning meeting is to help build classroom community and provide a safe environment for students to feel heard and supported. Morning meetings will quickly become the favorite part of your day and your students as well!

I think that it’s important to create consistency with your students. As teachers, we know that things come up and we might have to miss a day or two of your meeting. But in order for morning meetings to be most effective, they need to happen every day, first thing in the morning. Our meetings usually lasts 15-20 minutes and the framework of the morning meeting pretty much stays the same. Our format is mostly: Greeting, Question/Share, Activity, Phonics/Math Talk.

With anything new in the classroom, you will want to take a few days to introduce the idea of a meeting, what will happen and why this is a part of our day. I try to touch on each of these points so my students get in a groove for what to expect. We spend time practicing and reviewing the expectations, turn taking, and procedures. 

How to Have a Morning Meeting during Distance Learning

One of the struggles that a lot of teachers faced during distance learning was not being able to have that special meeting time with their students. And that might be the case again as we head back to school and some schools are remaining virtual. I knew that I needed to be able to create a resource that allowed teachers the opportunity to implement a virtual morning meeting. 

This Digital Morning Meeting resource is the perfect way to start the day whether you are in the classroom or doing distance learning. As we enter a new normal in our classrooms, trying to keep students 6 feet apart while on the carpet for a traditional meeting will be extremely difficult. This is especially hard for younger students. This Digital Morning Meeting allows you to project the meeting topics while students are safely in their designated spaces!

Even if your morning meeting routine needs to look a little different this year, I encourage you to still make it a part of your day. Incorporating this special time in the morning can truly have an impact on your classroom culture and your students will come together as a community of learners. 

Brain Break Tic-Tac-Toe

by Leave a Comment

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!

This FREE Brain Break Tic Tac Toe includes 3 sets of activities for children that may be stuck at home. The first set includes quick exercises to get children up and moving. The second set includes longer activities to be completed throughout the day. The third set is completely editable to allow you to type in your own activities.

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.

This FREE Brain Break Tic Tac Toe includes 3 sets of activities for children that may be stuck at home. The first set includes quick exercises to get children up and moving. The second set includes longer activities to be completed throughout the day. The third set is completely editable to allow you to type in 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.

This FREE Brain Break Tic Tac Toe includes 3 sets of activities for children that may be stuck at home. The first set includes quick exercises to get children up and moving. The second set includes longer activities to be completed throughout the day. The third set is completely editable to allow you to type in your own activities.

 

 

Building Teacher-Student Relationships – A 5 Day Challenge

by Leave a Comment

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.

Building Teacher-Student Relationships is the most important component in having a successful school year. Join in this 5-Day Building Teacher-Student Relationships Challenge. 5 Easy to implement challenges to help improve your relationships with your students.

Here are each of the five challenges in case you missed it, or you want to start implementing these now.

Building Teacher-Student Relationships Challenge #1

Building Teacher-Student Relationships is the most important component in having a successful school year. Join in this 5-Day Building Teacher-Student Relationships Challenge. 5 Easy to implement challenges to help improve your relationships with your students.

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.⁣

Challenge #2

Building Teacher-Student Relationships is the most important component in having a successful school year. Join in this 5-Day Building Teacher-Student Relationships Challenge. 5 Easy to implement challenges to help improve your relationships with 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.

Challenge #3

Building Teacher-Student Relationships is the most important component in having a successful school year. Join in this 5-Day Building Teacher-Student Relationships Challenge. 5 Easy to implement challenges to help improve your relationships with your students.

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.

Challenge #4

Building Teacher-Student Relationships is the most important component in having a successful school year. Join in this 5-Day Building Teacher-Student Relationships Challenge. 5 Easy to implement challenges to help improve your relationships with your students.

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.”

Challenge #5

Building Teacher-Student Relationships is the most important component in having a successful school year. Join in this 5-Day Building Teacher-Student Relationships Challenge. 5 Easy to implement challenges to help improve your relationships with your students.

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.

Building Teacher-Student Relationships is the most important component in having a successful school year. Join in this 5-Day Building Teacher-Student Relationships Challenge. 5 Easy to implement challenges to help improve your relationships with your students.

15 Must Have Indoor Recess Items

by Leave a Comment

Oh, the joys of indoor recess.  Living in Indiana, we tend to spend the majority of our recesses indoors from about November to March.  Here’s the deal…I hate indoor recess!  But, we have to make the best of it.  For that reason, I came up with a list of my favorite Indoor Recess Items for your classroom.  I personally use many of these for my Morning Tubs, but they are also great for that dreaded inside recess.

All of the items are numbered and linked below, or you can click on the picture and use the direct links from the PDF file for easy access.

Please note: These are affiliate links.  I do receive a small commission when items are purchased from these links.  This helps to support my little area of cyber space and keep the blog up and running.

15 Must-Have Indoor Recess Items

  1. Legos – Hello.  What elementary classroom doesn’t need Legos, right?
  2. Bristle Blocks – The students love building with these.
  3. Goobi Playsticks – These sticks have magnetic ends to stick to the metal balls.  The set also comes with plastic connectors.
  4. Playthings Playsticks – These remind me just a little bit of Lincoln Logs, but they are plastic.  My students love building houses, cars, and more with these.
  5. Brain Flakes – These are fun to creative with.  Such a simple idea, but the kids love them.
  6. Emido Building Blocks – Similar to the Brain Flakes, but thicker and very sturdy.
  7. Cash Register – You would not believe how much fun my students have with this cash register.  They instantly begin playing store and trying to buy and sell everything in the classroom.
  8. TinkerToys – Here’s a throwback, right?  These are made with plastic pieces though.
  9. Wood Cabin Logs – Basically Lincoln Logs, but cheaper.
  10. Topple – The kids love this game, and I like that it really does involve some strategy to keep it from toppling over.
  11. Zoob Builders – These may be my absolute favorite.  I have given them as birthday presents as well.  They are so much fun, and the students get so creative.
  12. Cossy Engineering Blocks – These were a new purchase this year, and they’ve been a huge hit.
  13. Play-Doh – Are you brave enough to let your students use Play-Doh during indoor recess?  I’m not, but I use it for Fun Friday and Morning Tubs.
  14. Guidecraft Interlox Squares – These are fun interlocking squares, but I will warn you that if your students are not gentle, they do break kind of easily.
  15. Emoji Uno – I love a good game of Uno, but this Emoji Uno is a hit with kids.

What are some of your other favorite indoor recess items?

*Feel free to pin the image below for future reference.

15 Must-Have Indoor Recess Items

A Superhero Day Classroom Transformation

by 4 Comments

I love changing things up now and then in my teaching and transforming my classroom for the day.  I have done a couple of transformations in the past, and I try to add at least one new one each school year.  I have been holding onto some superhero party decorations from my daughter’s birthday party a couple of years ago, and I knew that eventually I wanted to use them for something in my classroom.  I started brainstorming ideas and came up with the activities for our Superhero Day.

Do your students love superheroes? Transform your classroom into a Superhero Training Camp for the day with this Superhero Day packet. Your students will love completing academic tasks to earn their superhero status. Students will complete reading, math, and writing tasks throughout the day.

This post contains affiliate links. I earn a small commission each time someone makes a purchase through one of my links, which helps to support the blog.

This was such a fun day with tons of learning going on.  Prior to our Superhero Day, I sent out a letter letting the students know that we would be having a Superhero Day, and they could wear superhero themed shirts if they would like.  I also purchased a couple of things off of Amazon to add to our classroom including capes and masks for each student, a backdrop, blue and red plastic tablecloths, and some decorations.  It took me hardly any time at all to prep our classroom for the day.  I turned on some superhero themed music to add to the superhero theme.

Do your students love superheroes? Transform your classroom into a Superhero Training Camp for the day with this Superhero Day packet. Your students will love completing academic tasks to earn their superhero status. Students will complete reading, math, and writing tasks throughout the day.When the students came into the classroom, they had a yellow piece of construction paper and a Superhero Coloring page on their desks.  They colored the page, folded their paper, and created a folder to keep all of their completed activities in for the day.  While they were working, I passed out their capes and masks.Do your students love superheroes? Transform your classroom into a Superhero Training Camp for the day with this Superhero Day packet. Your students will love completing academic tasks to earn their superhero status. Students will complete reading, math, and writing tasks throughout the day.

 

 

Next, each of the students figured out their Superhero name and created their ID cards.  They loved figuring out what their superhero name would be.

Do your students love superheroes? Transform your classroom into a Superhero Training Camp for the day with this Superhero Day packet. Your students will love completing academic tasks to earn their superhero status. Students will complete reading, math, and writing tasks throughout the day.

I explained to the students that they were at a Superhero Training Camp.  They would have to work to earn their superpowers.  Throughout the day, the students rotated through stations to earn their superpowers.

  • Super Silence – Silent e
  • Super Manipulation – Making Words
  • Super Strength – Exercises
  • Super Intelligence – Math Fact Practice
  • Super Creativity – Writing
  • Super Decoding – Mystery Codes

Do your students love superheroes? Transform your classroom into a Superhero Training Camp for the day with this Superhero Day packet. Your students will love completing academic tasks to earn their superhero status. Students will complete reading, math, and writing tasks throughout the day.

Do your students love superheroes? Transform your classroom into a Superhero Training Camp for the day with this Superhero Day packet. Your students will love completing academic tasks to earn their superhero status. Students will complete reading, math, and writing tasks throughout the day.

They were so engaged and didn’t even realize that they were still completing so many academic tasks.  We also discussed some superhero vocabulary and completed vocabulary activities.

Do your students love superheroes? Transform your classroom into a Superhero Training Camp for the day with this Superhero Day packet. Your students will love completing academic tasks to earn their superhero status. Students will complete reading, math, and writing tasks throughout the day.

I cannot even tell you how much fun this day ended up being.  So many people shy away from classroom transformations because they get overwhelmed.  It is amazing what some Dollar Tree tablecloths can do to add to the excitement and engagement for the day.  “This was the best day ever!” was heard throughout the day.

If you want to try a Superhero Classroom Transformation in your classroom, check out my packet in my Teachers Pay Teachers Store.  The packet includes ideas for transforming your classroom for a Superhero Day, signs, stations labels, letter home, superhero names, superhero ID cards, superhero training stations (silent e, making words, super strength, math facts, writing, secret codes), ABC Order, word search, super sentences, superhero vocabulary, and more.  It truly is a fun-filled day of learning.  Click on the picture below to head over to my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

Do your students love superheroes? Transform your classroom into a Superhero Training Camp for the day with this Superhero Day packet. Your students will love completing academic tasks to earn their superhero status. Students will complete reading, math, and writing tasks throughout the day.

Feel free to pin the picture below as a reminder to check this out later.

Do your students love superheroes? Transform your classroom into a Superhero Training Camp for the day with this Superhero Day packet. Your students will love completing academic tasks to earn their superhero status. Students will complete reading, math, and writing tasks throughout the day.