Hope you didn't miss me too much. Oh who am I kidding I hope you missed me a ton! Obviously life got pretty complex for me in the past two months and I have been a bit MIA. No blogging, and no reading blogs. OMG, I can't tell you how many kinds of busy I was. However, last Thursdays the kids let out. On Friday, with the help of several colleagues I was able to pack up my room, again, and close up shop for the summer!
Pack up? Yes, remember I was away for relocation. Now I have to wait 2 full months before I can move back into our building and rebuild my class in a new space. I had some great ideas to post about and yet, I was unable to snap any pictures. So they have been tabled until a better time. So I am now on vaca, but truthfully teaching and my classroom is never too far away from my thoughts. So here I am on my 6th day of summer vacation, siting in a professional development on a 15 minute break writing to you!
I was reminded of this activity/ strategy while I was packing up my students reading anthologies. This is a simple yet very effective strategy to have your students mark their page in their book. In simpler terms, a book mark.
My students reading anthologies have multiple stories in them and it is very time consuming to help all those little hands find page 52 or 97. So one day I just gave them all one of my favorite school supplies, sticky notes!
I have a number system in my room where my students are each assigned a number. So I started by numbering sticky notes and adding one to each anthology.
When I passed out the books and introduced the sticky note process I had the kids put the sticky note at the start of the story we would read. Then after reading they would stick it at the start of the next story for easy page finding.
It has made my life and my students lives so much easier when we are ready to read.
If your still in school I hope this helps.
If your out for summer break... Congrats!
Either way I optimistic about writing more often this summer.
I do this sticky note system too except with their journals. When we are done with one page, they stick it on the next...I may have to do this with their textbook stories as well now :) Thanks for the tip!
ReplyDelete-Lovely Nina
Lovely Little Learners
Ooo, I hadn't thought of doing it for their notebooks too. Great idea.
DeleteM
I had kids who did this on their own this year :) I was amazed! Hadn't ever thought of it. They even did it in their sci books to divide up the topics!
ReplyDeleteEvery New Beginning Blog
Excellent. What initiative for them to do it on their own.
DeleteM
They say - necessity is the mother of invention!! :) Great idea - and so easy to implement. Thanks for sharing, Renee
ReplyDeleteThanks Renee!
DeleteM
Glad to see you back! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Steve. It is good to be back. Now I just have to go to your blog and catch up with the million posts I've missed.
DeleteM
It's like life snuck up on us both at the same time! I am back in Blogland, too! Hooray for us both!
ReplyDeleteLiam
Liam, you have no clue how close my story is to yours, with out the engagement, of course. I'll have to share with you sometime.
DeleteCongrats and welcome back.
M
I am so happy to see you back!! How bad is it that I am days late in noticing?? I have been so far behind too. I love the numbering idea!!
ReplyDeleteK, thanks and I and there is no such thing as being late when you take the time to comment. :)
DeleteM
In case you didn't catch it, I never catch my own, the last sentence should be if you're still in school.
ReplyDeleteI had to move out of my room too! Packed everything up in the hallway to get new tile! :(
ReplyDelete