I thought it might be helpful to set up a “Brilliant Ideas“ page where I could post the “best of the best“ simple yet “brilliant” tricks, strategies, and ideas that I have used over the years.

There is so much information available on the web and so many talented individuals out there, I will be selective, including those ideas that are “tried and true“ or brilliantly simple!  I guarantee that these “ideas” work /help and that they are meaningful, especially for “beginning” teachers (although I found throughout my career, I was always “beginning,”reflecting on my own practice, learning from others, finding my “voice,” and adapting to suit student needs and learning styles)!   Use this page as a working guide; you will discover your own “teaching voice.”  Please be patient as this page is “under construction!” As well, I will post a page with useful educational websites (Presently Under Construction!).

Building Community

I always felt slightly “nervous” anticipating new faces, situations, “set up” of the room!  I wanted to open the doors and invite my new little ones and their families into a welcoming room.  If I felt nervous, perhaps the children and parents did too!  Here are a few ideas that helped settle the students into their new “home away from home,” and reassure parents that their children were in a safe and nurturing environment.

• consider setting up a blog site- District or edublogs.org to “highlight” your classroom*

*ensure all student permission slips are signed/accounted for- check with your Admin re: protocol

“Welcoming” Letters–

It is extremely important that the parents receive a letter “welcoming” them to the school/grade.  Introduce yourself, “invite” them to help in different ways-

ie: Library parent

Reading with children

Sharing their Hobbies, Interests, Occupations …

Explain a few “highlights” of the coming month.  Suggest a few ways to “contact” one another- email, face to face, phone hours…

Taking the time to “welcome” parents, goes a long way toward building meaningful connections between the home and school.

Be At the Door

• try to “be at the classroom door” in the morning to greet your children and families- start the day with a smile and a compliment

• always say “good bye” at the door as you send the little ones “home” with parents and guardians.  Conversations at the door can be productive and powerful and are always appreciated by the parents.  If I had to share a “concern,” I always tried to end the conversation with a “positive” and the words, “Tomorrow is a new day.”

This “dear” chant was shared by a parent and teacher.  It is amazing how the “small” routines that we incorporate into our daily routines have such a powerful impact on our  students.  The children “loved” this chant and if I forgot to say it…they reminded me!  Try it with your young children-

See You Later

See you later, alligator,

In a while, crocodile,

Bye-bye, butterfly,

See you soon, racoon,

Take care, polar bear,

Out the door, dinosaur!

(Thank you, Angie!  We love this chant!)

Parent Support-

• send out a notice inviting parents to share their “jobs,” hobbies, read a story, etc. with the class- This is a wonderful way to include the families!  We learned a lot from each other and the children were proud of their families efforts to “share.”

• Getting to Know You– provide a simple communication form that elicits information from the parent- i.e.: best ways/times to contact you, your child’s favourite activities, your concerns, allergies, something to “celebrate” about your child…

• Notice of Routines/ Library/Computer/PE schedule/Dismissal Door- this notice should state the date and times; helps parents “plan”

• consider implementing “Read to Me” time from 9:00-9:20 * determine days of the week.  Model your expectations for the children and the parents.  Parents enjoy reading stories to small groups of children.

• Whispering or speaking in a “gentle” tone makes children do almost anything!

• Book Bags- I have tried a few different types of “bag.”  The idea is to give each child a book bag.  Model how we care for our books.  Let the children select three books to store in their book bags- one “favourite,” picture book, fictional story, one non fiction selection, and one “just right*” book.  The children can look at their books during transitional times, silent reading (“DEAR” time- Drop Everything and Read!).  Look for book bags at Dollar stores, discount department stores, grocery stores,… I have even seen student decorated cloth book bags!  Purchase a plain bag and let the children decorate it with fabric paint!  You might also consider having each parent send in a small sized, cloth shopping bag to “house” the books.

*” just right” book- This is a book that is geared toward the child’s reading level.

•  Check out this inspiring link to obtain brilliant ways to incorporate “book bags” within your classroom-

The Sisters- “The Daily Five“- http://www.the2sisters.com/

– An amazing Teacher Blog site- http://castlesandcrayons.blogspot.ca/p/daily-five.html

Book Boxes or Tubs

• sort your classroom read alouds and student library into file boxes by “themes”or topic eg.: Fall, Alphabet, Author- This tip pays off when you are searching for that special book!

D.E.A.R time – Read to Self  (1:00)

• set aside some time each day for children to “read to self”.  At first this can be difficult for some children to do.  Establish criteria as a class,

-We choose our book.

-We sit on our chair or on the floor.

– We “read to self” for * minutes.

* Start with a time of 5 minutes, as children “build stamina,” add on time.  Observe- how does the child hold the book, are they trying to track the words, observing the pictures, flipping, are the “mumble” reading?  Over time, you will notice that even reluctant readers usually begin to develop reading “postures” and behaviours.

Weekly Poem or Chant Binder

• choose a simple poem* or chant, print it onto chart paper.  Read together each day, identifying “key” sight words, reproduce a printed copy for students, have them circle the key words, place poem into a binder

• Alligator Pie– Dennis Lee has many simple, silly poems that “delight” the children, Shel Silverstein is another author that the children “love” to listen to (lots of giggles)

• send the Poem Binder home once a week for additional reading practice- The circled, “key” words are focused on and reviewed, the parents can see the words of the week, and celebrate reading together

Teach these 25 Words- The Reading Teacher

he
	be
	to
	of
	and
	a
	in
	that
	have
	I
	it
	for
	not
	on
	with
	he
	as
	you
	do
	at
	this
	but
	his
	by
	from

These 25 key words make up most of the print in emerging text. Help your students feel successful as readers!

Home Readers

I like to “ease” into this area as I want the children to feel successful with print before they take a book home to read with their families.  As well, buying some time allows me to determine their approximate reading level.  Usually, I wait at least a month before sending home a “Home Reading Package.”  The package includes,

• a large Zip Loc bag- labeled with the child’s name and Division

• a note explaining the purpose of  the Home Reading Program

• a “just right” book chosen by the child

The goal is to provide many successful reading experiences!

* Storage Tubs or Boxes to “house” student notebooks- collect notebooks, label, and sort them according to function- e.g: Journals, Printing, …  Label the books with the subject title.  Consider placing a coloured sticker on the top corner to identify the book/tub.  I’ve even placed a photocopied individual class picture of the student in the top corner.  This helps the children “find” and hand out books to one another.

• Doodling/Drawing notebook-  keep a plain notebook handy to “doodle” in

• “All About Me“- give each child a small paper bag to decorate (crayons, felts, etc). Include a notice (miniature size the notice-cute!) that asks each child to include 3-5 items that will “tell” what they “like,”( favourite book, colour, craft, what they’ve been doing (i.e.: trophies, medals, swimming badges, photographs, etc) Bring the bag back to school and take turns sharing their, “All About Me” items!

• “Who’s in my Community?”- walk about the school or invite the various school “helpers” into the classroom.  Introduce these helpers to  the students, explain their role in our school community.  Have the children sketch or draw/colour an illustration of these helpers.  Display in the halls.  You are sure to put a smile on  a helper’s face!

• “Set Criteria”– Together, list a few important points (keep it brief) to remember on a chart or whiteboard-

ie: At the Meeting Place*

•  “we stay in our own bubble, Hands to yourself!

• “criss, cross, applesauce”

• heads up, eyes on”

• consider teaching this Listening Strategy

H.E.L.L.O.” position which means-

“Hands together or “still”

Eyes “on” the speaker

Listening with your ears

Listening with your “eyes”- This one gets their attention-lol!

Open to new ideas”

* Choose your “target” behaviours and set criteria together!  Post the criteria on a chart. 

• establish a “Learning Circle” for lessons, “hands on” space to work with materials during a lesson.   You can also establish a “Talking Circle.”  Use a heart shaped rock or “item” such as a mascot, that is passed around the circle, signifying a turn to talk or share.  If children need time to feel comfortable sharing in the group, teach the word, “pass.”  Brilliant ideas and positive problem solving skills are developed within the “Talking Circle“.

“This is Me in Grade *”

On a sheet of paper, children illustrate a portrait of themselves- Be brave and use pastels- crayons, or felts work, too!  “Model” a teacher portrait!  Encourage the children to make their illustrations- “Big, Bright, Beautiful!“– Thank you, Janine! (“try to include at least 5 colours”) Sign their names.  Hang and “celebrate” the precious portraits!

Play Dough is your friend!

– buy a bulk bag of Play Dough (Costco) and give each child 2 containers.  Let them keep the Play Dough in their desks or baskets; it’s great “transitional” activity! Mold letters, numbers, spell their names, etc. Plastic placemats protect the table or desk top.

Canadian Author/Plasticene Artist, Barbara Reid is inspirational!

( There is a link to her site on my Home Page.)

“Dollar” Stores are also your “friend-” for name tags, calendar numerals, sticky shapes, calendars, borders, etc.  Garage Sales- lots of Lego!

• Glitter…can’t say enough about glitter!  Glitter on pumpkins, paper leaves, paintings…Glitter takes everything to a whole other level!  Sparkle on!

“Take a Break”

• take a 10- 15 minute break after each lesson, activity- It’s good practice for all!

Head outside to the playground, explore your surroundings, choose a centre activity to explore

(i.e.: Building, Puzzles, Writing, Crafting…), sing, dance, move to music

Visit the Library

– fill a basket with read aloud favourites

• Kevin Henkes- Chrysanthemum, Wembeley Worried   http://www.kevinhenkes.com

• Rosemary Wells- Max and Ruby*/ Mc Duff series

* the children “love” the Max and Ruby series as many of them are familiar with the characters from tv

• Melanie Watt- Scaredy Squirrel series

The Morning Message

Some teachers refer to this as a “Sponge” activity.  Use magnetic letters to spell a “greeting” on the magnetic board each morning-

e.g.: You make me smile.  Read the message together.  Take it a step further,

• have the children illustrate and label someone who makes them smile, etc.

• copy the message

• leave out initial consonants and fill them in together, etc.

You are encouraging literacy development in a daily setting.  As your little learners mature you can “theme” your Morning Message, highlight spelling words in the message, work on vowels sounds, sound patterns, etc.

Reading “Phones”

• a colleague introduced me to this exciting idea (Thank you, Leah!)

• use plumbing plastic tubes, attach a U shaped piece to an end and let children practice reading into the pipe-The children “love” to hear the sound of their own voice, echoing back to them!

White Boards

• take some time to “write” together on individual white boards

Practice “your name,” letters,” “words,” write for “fun,”etc.

As the children “mature” and build stamina- introduce a Printing notebook for weekly “targeted” printing practice*.

* Some children may benefit by using a “pencil grip.”  Once again- try the good old “Dollar Store!”

“Simple” Math Activities

• Graph # of girls, boys on a chart   (model) Summarize the data.

– You can adapt this activity to depict eye colour, hair colour, lace vs. velcro shoes …

– Give each child a simple data sheet with the Survey Question at the top (i.e.: How many children are wearing lace up shoes? Velcro shoes? etc.) and let the children survey their classmates, thus creating their own data.

Summarize the data results.

• collect old keys, plastic “gems,” small rocks, nuts and bolts, buttons, plastic animals, toy cars, bread ties, … Place them into small cloth bags or “baggies.”  Use these items to sort with during your Explorations time.  It’s amazing to watch how the children sort the items and listen to their explanations of why they chose the attributes (thinking)!