Guest Blogger...Kristen

Hi everyone! I'm Kristin from My Carolina Classroom. I  just finished my first year of teaching and I'm a brand new blogger.  Darleen is kindly allowing me to take over for the day!  I want to share something I learned during my first year in the classroom. 

By the end of 2nd grade, all of my students knew the sign language alphabet and were using it daily. I'm not going to act like this was part of my master plan to enrich my students' learning; It was a TOTAL accident! In retrospect, teaching my students sign language was one of the best things that I accidentally-on-purpose did as a first-year teacher. It all started during word study. It was one of those days that I'm sure all first year (and veteran) teachers have. I was tired, I had a headache... and I had a brilliant idea. I pulled up and projected the sign language alphabet. We talked a little about how ASL (American Sign Language) is a different language. I paired up the students, pointed out the week's spelling and sight words, and said "go." My second graders spent 20 minutes signing words to their partners, who in turn had to figure out which spelling or sight word it was.

Just like that, my class was HOOKED! They begged me to do sign language every day. I printed each of them a copy of the alphabet and sometimes we practiced sign language as a brain break. My kids could not get enough. It was amazing to me how quickly they all picked up on it. It wasn't long before I could start incorporating sign language into our daily routines.

RAISED HANDS: When students raised their hands, they made a Q for a question, C for a comment, or an R for restroom. This was a major help to me, as I could avoid the storytellers when needed.

BATHROOM BREAKS: You know that awkward time when kids are done using the restroom and they have to stand in line silently and patiently? I would sign the name of someone standing the correct way in the hallway, and that student would raise his or her hand. We started with first names, then last, then middle. After they got the hang of it, I let the kids be in charge. (Once, I used this method to keep my class under control while waiting to be dismissed from an assembly. My administration was impressed!)

CHORAL RESPONSE: As you know, it's important to use choral response as much as possible so all students stay actively engaged. When we practiced multiple choice questions, I had students show me their answers by using sign language.

ATTENTION GRABBER: Occasionally I would use sign language to grab my students' attention at the start of a lesson. I would stand silently at the front of the room and use the ASL alphabet to slowly sign a sentence. The kids would sit still and quiet, trying to figure out what I was spelling.

LUNCH: When the cafeteria monitors decided to put the students on silent lunch due to noise level, my class got creative and began communicating to each other in sign language. My colleagues and I thought it was hilarious and couldn't decide if we should put a stop to it or not, because although the kids were communicating, they were technically being silent! Thank you so much for having me, Darleen and Darleen's readers! I hope that you find a way to use sign language in your classroom. Come by My Carolina Classroom anytime. :)

 

 

~~Guest Blogging~~

 I am so excited to be guest blogging for Stevi & Tamara @ 2 Crazy Texas Teachers.   I must admit that I am extremely a little nervous~~this is my first time!  If you haven't checked out their blog~~you must pop over and say hello.  They have some wonderful ideas!! 

 I don't know about you...but I thrive on organization in my classroom. I guess you can say I have a little OCD when it comes to my classroom. Having things in the right spot or knowing where I can find a certain something helps my students as well as myself throughout the day.

In my classroom, I have some must-have needs~~group baskets (see picture below), sharpies (and lots of them), and labels. I provide each group with a basket organizer for their supplies. They can put whatever necessary school item in the basket. Usually, the basket has glue sticks, pencils, markers, crayons, scissors, erasers, and sharpies. For the past several years, each student had their own personal basket. It worked out for a while until the basket became too full to hold what was needed. This year I decided that each group would have one basket. Along with the regular supplies, I will put a set of Story Sticks, multiplication/division flash cards, and bathroom passes (one boy/girl for each group). The sticks are used for retelling stories. I thought this would be a great brain break activity.

Check out how precious the baskets came out.  I just love the bright colors! You can grab a copy of the basket signs (HERE).

 

~~Monday Made It~~

I am linking up with Tara @ 4th Grade Frolics for her wonderful Monday Made It Linky.  I have been so busy this summer that I only linked up twice with Tara.  Last summer, I made the linky party almost every week!! Thank goodness that this linky is ongoing~~I love it!!!!   Anyway, I tried (for the very first time ever) making my activities using PowerPoint.  Why have I been using Microsoft Word all these years??!!  I can't believe how easy it was. Let's just say...I changed my behavior clip chart again~~I only made about 5 before I decided to print!!! Check out my FINAL behavior clip chart below! We have a point system so that is why my chart has numbers.

I just fell in love with all of the banners out there.  I wanted to make one of my own for my students to complete on the first day. They will complete an "All About Me" banner.  I will hang them up in my classroom when they are complete.  I made 2 versions.  Please enjoy this freebie!!  Just click on the link above!!

I am going to be a Guest Blogger for the first time!!!!  Stevi & Tamara over @ 2 Crazy Texas Teachers needed some guest bloggers this summer.  I jumped at the chance to help out.  You can check out my post the week of July 29th!!!