Worry No More...Free First Week Assessments

t's August!

The month when school resumes.

The month when summer is over.

The month when littles come to us and we have NO idea what they know.

We need to know how to meet each and every one of them on their level and get at it quick!

Today I am sharing with you a collection of back to school simple daily assessments for the 1st week.

This packet contains all the assessments you need to figure out what your littles are capable of.

Included are the following:
*I Can...draw a picture of me.
*I Can...write my name.
*I Can...write my alphabet.
*I Can...match uppercase and lowercase letters.
*I Can...hear beginning sounds.
*I Can...write my numbers.
*I Can...can the objects.

My recommendation is to knock out one or two a day that first week, before you even begin to teach anything at all. 

You can grab it HERE in my TpT store or by clicking on the cover below!

Check out my TpT Store for even more freebies I didn't have the chance to share OR just click on the freebies tab at the top of my blog page!

Flexible Seating Storage

This year I'm being brave and giving up some control and choice to my kids.

Insert flexible seating into classroom.

One dilemma I was faced with was storage for my students. 

We'd be going from desks to tables, couches, lap desks, etc. with no "place" for their supplies. 

There were drawers I had purchased for guided math last year and I knew they'd be perfect.

Although they can't be removed, students will go to their numbered drawer, pull out their supplies and return them at the end of the day. 

These drawers can be found on Amazon but most recently I found them on Wayfair for a whole lot cheaper! 

Join Our Tribe Gift

Are you loving the tribe themes going on currently?

Our school is embracing the theme and our team wanted to incorporate it into our Meet the Teacher.

We decided to make simple and cheap gifts for our students but also inspire them for the year!

We want them to BE BOLD, BE BRAVE and BE BRIGHT tribe members! 

Here's what you will need:

Washi tape

Glow sticks (found on Amazon)

You will also need to head to my TpT store to grab the printable. 

They are available for Kindergarten-6th grade.

Here are the simple instructions:

It took myself and 3 team mates about 45 minutes to make over 120 of them! 

Imagine how quick it would be to make a class set, not to mention how cute they are! 

Stop Spending Money on Treasure Chest! Use these Passes Instead...

Have you ever found yourself asking your friends who aren't teachers to save their Happy Meal toys?

Have you ever found yourself in the dollar spot at Target spending an outrageous amount of money...becuase we all know who quick dollar items add up...to put in your treasure chest?

STOP spending the extra money!

I've created reward passes for you class that will cost you N O money at all! 

These passes are designed to go with any behavior system you already have in place in your classroom.

I have used them with clip charts, treasure boxes and this year I will incorporate them with Class Dojo.

If you already use Class Dojo and want to incorporate them, here is the "system" that I will use to facilitate Dojo points and the passes together. Find the FREEBIE from the post below!

I have stored the passes in several ways:

You can print them "as is" and put them in binder in sleeves.

You can print them and shrink the size if you want smaller passes.

These are already in my TpT store. Find them HERE or by clicking the picture above!

Together, let's save some money!!!

Give Students Choice with Jobs! Now 38 Included!!!

Are you afraid to give up some of your tasks you do in the classroom?

What if I told you, it would save you LOTS of time?

What if I told you it would turn your students into leaders?

What if I told you it would build responsibility in your students?

I've had jobs in my classroom since I started teaching. That haven't always been as great at they are now though! I started with just a door holder and line leader. 2 jobs that changed daily.

Fast forward to now, and each student has a job. The past few years they have held the same job for a week at a time. But this year, I will explicitly teach and model the  jobs and let them apply, yes apply, for the job of their choice. 

I have recently updated all 3 of my job packs to include 38 jobs to fit your classroom needs!

There are 3 styles: 

You can find each of these in my TpT store or by clicking on the image above. 

Here is a glimpse of some of the jobs included:

Remember, there are 38 jobs to choose from.

To learn more and see a description of them all, head on over to my store!

Give your students a sense of pride and leadership this year with classroom jobs!

PB&J Partners

Need any easy management tool for when you use "turn and talk" in your classroom?

PB&J partners are a great way for your students to know exactly who to talk to during a discussion.

Click on the picture above to download it for FREE! 

Tracking Class Dojo Behavior

W O A H.

It's been a hot minute since I've posted. 

Now that I'm officially over the mid point of summer, I've started thinking about the new school year.

On my mind lately has been how to update my behavior system in my classroom.

So let's talk behavior management.

Over the past six years I've tried many different things.

I started with the clip chart. Hated how the same kids always moved their clip...never making a difference. Visual smisual. Didn't work. Same kids always visited the treasure chest blah blah.

OVER IT. 

So I came up with a ticket and folder system. Students earned different value tickets for daily behavior. They saved the tickets and cashed them in on Friday's. Much better than a clip chart and treasure chest but still hasn't been doing it for me. The "put your folder on my desk so I can sign it" was doing nothing.

OVER IT.

I decided to try something completely new this year. Class Dojo. I've had a few coworkers try it and LOVE it.  They praise how involved the parents are in communication to their child's daily behavior. So this year we are giving it a try. 

I decided I wanted kids and parents talking about their behavior daily, whether it be good or bad. Here is the freebie that came out of my vision.

Each student has a folder they take home. In it they will keep a Dojo Behavior tracking chart.

Each night, they will discuss their points earned and record them on this tracking chart.

I have set a goal for them to obtain 12 points by the end of the week.

Here is a parent letter I am going to send home explaining the point "system".

If they reach their goal of 12 points by Friday, they will get to pick a pass.

{Passes are in the works and will be released in my TpT store soon!}

Students will also have the ability to reach a long term goal of obtaining 100 points! On Friday, we will spend 5 minutes of our time coloring in our weekly points on this tracking chart. 

Once students have hit their 100 points, they will get to pick an "exclusive" 100 point pass!

Have you used Class Dojo? Do you have any ideas, pointers, cautions?

Please share below, I'd be happy to hear from you.

Don't forget to grab the freebie which includes all the examples from this post by clicking -----> HERE