Back to school is not only one of my favorite
themes, it's also my favorite time of year. Everything is shiny and
new, and everyone is excited about starting a new year.
My Back to School Unit is a mixture of several themes that I use
over the first few weeks. Whether I'm teaching kindergarten, first
grade, or a multi-age class, I begin my year the same, and each child participates
at his or her personal level, which is what I always expect of all my students,
regardless of their age or grade.
During the first two weeks, I incorporate materials from the following
themes:
Have fun visiting my Back to School pages. Books
are linked directly to Amazon.com -- click on the cover or title to get
more information, then use the back button on your browser to return to
where you left off.
I wondered and I wondered When I could go to school. They said I wasn’t old enough According to the rule.
I waited and I waited, I was patient as could be. And now I’m all excited ... It’s time for school for me!
September is here. September is here. School's begun and we'll have fun, September is here.
The First Day of School
Getting Started
I'm in my classroom early on the first day of school, to meet the
children and their parents as they arrive. Some years, I'm able to
arrange for the children to visit me in my room the Thursday before school
starts, but I don't always have a principal who allows that -- our district
doesn't post the official class lists until Friday afternoon, so it's not
easy to get a head start on some things.
On the first day of school, I have a special Beary Good Work folder
on each student's desk or table, along with a new box of crayons and a
basket with pencils, an eraser, a glue stick, and a pair of Fiskars for
Kids. I also have books, puzzles, and pattern blocks available for
the children to choose from.
This gives me time to talk with the parents and find out any important
or special information about their child. I usually wait at least
15 minutes after the bell rings before I bring the children together on
the story floor, because we always have latecomers the first few days of
school. We don't have instructional aides at our school, so I try
very hard to enlist the help of a parent or one of my friends the first
day or two, to minimize interruptions once I begin working with the children.
Off to School We Go (Tune: A-hunting We Will Go)
Off to school we go, Oh, it's off to school we go, We'll take our lunch and ride the bus, With everyone we know. Off to school we go, Oh, it's off to school we go, We'll learn our ABC's and more, With everyone we know.
Hello Song (Tune: Frere Jacques)
Hello, _____, hello, _____ How are you? How are you? We're so glad to have you, We're so glad to have you, Here at school, here at school.
In Our Class (Tune: It's a Small World)
We will study hard And we'll make new friends. There's so much to do 'til the school year
ends. We will read, write and spell, And do math very well, In Mrs. Smith's First Grade class.
In Mrs. Smith's First Grade class. In Mrs. Smith's First Grade class. In Mrs. Smith's First Grade class. There's so much for us to do!
My Teacher's My Friend
Once everyone has arrived, we go to the story floor. I always
start our first story time by reading P.K. Hallinan's wonderful rhyming
story "My Teacher's My Friend." It's short, has a lot of rhythm and
rhyme, and it leads into a natural discussion about school and this new
person in the childrens' lives, Mrs. Smith.
Hallinan is one of my favorite children's author/illustrators, and
he's the subject of our first author study, which we call Star Author.
We'll read many of his books throughout the year, and we focus on his books
about friends at the beginning of school.
After we read the story, I tell the children about me and my family,
and let them ask questions. And then we take some time to let each
of the children introduce themselves and share something they'd like us
to know. To finish, I read the story again, encouraging the children
to help me with the rhyming words. We'll revisit this book many times
the first week of school, as we talk about school and friends.
Friends Poem
I have this poem in a pocket chart in our reading area, with
an extra set of words for matching. The same poem is on a large bulletin
board, which is actually the paint easel area of my classroom. This
will be the first poem in their Poetry Journals. I use three-ring
binders to hold their poetry collection, and send the binders home at the
end of the year.
Friends by Jill Eggleston
Friends share. Friends care. We need friends Everywhere!
This book is the perfect First Day of School story. It's about Chester Raccoon, who doesn't want to leave his mother
to go to school. His mother shares a secret with him -- the Kissing Hand. Your students will love this story, and you can do many different
follow up activities, including handprints with hearts in the middle, and
hand-shaped cookies with a Hershey's kiss in the palm. Dozens of
teachers have shared their terrific ideas for the Kissing Hand on the KinderKorner
mailing list this summer, and they'll soon have a page of their own.
When
You Go to Kindergarten This is a delightful book filled with color photographs ... my students always enjoy looking at this book, and we make our own version about *our* classroom. Under $5
Class Rules
One of things we have to do on the first day of school is talk about
school rules and safety. First we brainstorm a list of rules the
kids think we should have in our class -- I always get lots of "no hitting,
no pushing, no spitting" responses. I list all of their ideas on
a Language Experience chart, using different colored markers on alternating
lines. After we discuss their ideas for a few minutes, we talk about
our school's official rules and also the rules in our classroom.
I have the following poem on chart paper, attached to the front chalkboard all year long:
We raise our hands to speak. We work quietly at our seats. We use voices soft and sweet. We keep our places tidy and neat. We are helpful, friendly, and fair. We take turns and willingly share.
We usually agree on the following rules for our class:
Be nice. Do what you know is right.
Those two rules seem to cover most situations, and they're easy to
remember. I add three other important rules:
1. Listen to the teacher and follow directions.
2. Do not interrupt Mrs. Smith when she
is working with another student unless you are having a "B Emergency."
B Emergencies are bathroom, blood, and barf. The kids love this rule, and it's one they
respect from the very beginning. No one has ever had an "accident" in my classroom,
after learning this rule.
3. Only Mrs. Smith may use the classroom
sink. Students must go to the restroom to wash their hands and get
drinks. I have this rule so that I will have a sanitary place to
wash and disinfect my hands, which keeps me from catching their colds and
runny noses.
Important Rules (Tune: Twinkle, Twinkle)
Here are some rules for you and me, See how important they can be. Always be honest, be kind and fair, Always be good and willing to share. These are rules we all should know, We follow these rules wherever we go.
Rules Rap (lightly slap your knees to this one)
Rules can be helpful, Rules can be good. They help us behave, The way we should.
We follow the rules, And we don't do wrong. The world's a happier place When we all get along.
I
Spy School Days A Book of Picture Riddles An engaging book that you'll want to keep with your Back to School collection for your students to enjoy ... a great conversation starter!
Where Are the Bathrooms?
After we finish talking about rules, we walk to the bathrooms and
drinking fountain, so everyone knows where the bathrooms are and what the
rules are when using the bathroom. Then we take a walk from our classroom
door to the spot where we line up on the track during fire drills, so that
they will know where to go and how to walk nicely when we have our first
fire drill later in the week. My class always lines up in ABC order,
no matter where we're going. That way, there are no arguments about
who got to the front of the line first. Having the kids in ABC order
makes a lot of things easier all year long.
Self Portrait
I have another poem by Jill Eggleston that
I share with the children:
There are millions of people All over the place But nobody else With exactly my face.
I give each child a paper that has the outline
of a head and shoulders on it, and they draw their self portraits.
I cut freehand around their drawings, and display them on the bulletin
board with the two poems. I write each child's name on a sentence
strip cut to size, and place it beneath their drawing. After a week
or two, I move these to a spot above our sink, where they remain for the
rest of the year. We make self-portraits again during the last week
of school and I mount the two portraits side-by-side on black paper and
laminate them as a gift to their parents.
Starting
School A gentle story about what goes on at a busy school Under $5
Suggested Story Follow-Up Activities
I always read My
Teacher Sleeps in School sometime during the first day or two. After we discuss the story, I share a photo
album with pictures of my house and my family, to help the students know
me better. The album becomes a favorite part of our class library,
along with a similar album we create of class pictures throughout the year.
After I share my personal pictures, I usually serve the children cupcakes
or cake like the teacher did in the story. It's a nice, informal
time for us all to get acquainted.
If I have a kindergarten class, I also read
Miss
Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten on the
first or second day of school. Then each child draws a picture of
something they did to get ready for kindergarten, and I write a sentence
about their picture. This becomes one of our first class books.
Thanks to Sharla Prather for this next one.
A morning song my kids love ...
It's to the tune of the army cadence you're familiar with, so we
call it "The Army Song." First we start marching in place and I call
out "left, right, left, right left." After doing this a few times,
I start ...
First grade, first grade, what you say? (Students echo) We're gonna have some fun today! (Students echo) We're gonna read and write and spell! (Students echo) We do these things very well! (Students echo) Sound off! (Students sing out 1,2) Sound off! (Students sing out 3,4) Bring it on down now! (Students sing out 1,2,3,4...1,2....3,4!)
My bookstore pages have lots of information
on how I use various materials in my classroom, and on activities you can
do with your students. The thematic pages are complete unit resources,
with lots of poems, songs, and activities on each page. Make yourself
comfortable and take a look around!
Choose from the categories below. Underlined subjects are links, the
other ones are coming soon!
