So, I've been using my quiet mornings (before my boys wake up) to work on some Back to School items.
We have "Meet the Teacher" on the 11th. My brand new firsties, and their parents, come to the school to..."Meet the teacher." Go figure!
No, really, this gives us a chance to say hello before the first day, bring in their supplies, and get some of those nervous jitters out. It's a great evening!
One of the best things about First Grade is the students get their own desk! They are so excited about this!
I get my very first sample of their academic skills by having them fill out their own name plate. I wrote this one, but I always have my new firsties fill out their own. This gives me a good idea of where they are academically. I find out if they know their name, I look at their handwriting, I look for upper & lowercase letters, etc. You get the picture. You wouldn't believe how much information you can get from this one little activity. And I kid you not, I could probably put my firsties into reading groups based on their name tags!
It's always interesting to watch the parents watching their babies write, too. They hover, and give them pointers, and dote over them to do their very best!
After about a week, I let them take these tags home and tell them to put them in their "homework station." I then mix up their desks (the way I want them seated, because you and I both know after about a week, you know who should be sitting next to who), and slap a big, fancy desk plate on them. We have a formal discussion about how to take care of their new desk plates, and 98% of them last throughout the year.
Here's what they look like flat...
And now folded...
And, if you don't want "tents" on your student desks, you could cut them out and tape them on individually.
You can grab these babies for FREE in my TPT store here.
Next up...making a brochure for "Meet the Teacher" night!
Happy Friday,
The Abq teacher bloggers are talking about getting together in Nov. Email me at ateaspoonofthird@aol.com if you're intersted in joining us.
ReplyDeleteI will be joining the ABQ bloggers. Melissa (above), Suzy Palmer, and myself have met a few times and have a good time. Hope you can make it too. It will be nice to have more folks. I would love to hear other peoples impressions of Stepping Stones. By the way, I teach a 1-2 combo class in APS but I am out in the Emtns. Hope to meet you next month. :)
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