Teaching with the 5 Senses

Student teaching has been amazing! 

It has been very busy, though, so I haven't had time to share much of what I am doing in the classroom. However, I had my first observation and got amazing results, so I thought it was time to share a new lesson. 

Our theme this week is Five Senses. 

To introduce the concept, I use a surprise bag (simply, a solid bag with a mystery item). The surprise bag contained a Mr. Potato head with missing eyes, ears, nose, hands, and mouth. 

Students felt of the bag and described what they felt (hard or soft, heavy or light, sound or no sound, etc.) and made a prediction. Students didn't realize it, but they were using their senses to make the guess. I then asked students to suppose what it would be like if they didn't have each of these body parts and related it to the five senses. 

We engaged in a little discussion and then sang a fabulous Five Senses song that is sung to the tune of "If You're Happy and You Know It." This reinforced the idea that we use our eyes to see, nose to smell, mouth to taste, ears to hear, and hands to feel. 

Students then used their five senses to explore a mystery box. They dictated their responses and teachers and assistants modeled handwriting. Their success was then measured using a fabulous dictation rubric.

To get the complete lesson including the Five Senses Song, Mystery Box Activity, and Dictation Rubric, visit my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

Purchase Here, Complete Five Senses TEAM Lesson Plan.

Stay tuned for more, Teaching in the A.M.

Teaching with New Kids {first day of student teaching}

Student Teaching Orientation is finally over and our first day in the classroom is Monday!

Luckily, I have had the chance to work with my cooperating teacher in the past, so I felt comfortable to ask about a few things that I wanted to do on my first day to introduce myself to students. These are simple ways to introduce yourself to students and parents whether you are a teacher or a student teacher like myself!

My intro to the students' families will be simple, a cute newsletter which introduces myself and briefly explains my role in the classroom. You will be able to find this in my TpT store soon!

To introduce myself to students, I will be using a Me Bag.

This is a fun way to tell students a little bit about yourself as a person and as a teacher. 

It is rather simple, you choose any bag and fill it with items that represent your favorite things, your personality, etc. Even the bag itself can have special meaning! For my Pre-k kids, I will use items that they will find exciting. Depending on your classroom, you may simply present the bag or you may present the item and have students guess what the item represents.

My Me Bag will include:

1. A stuffed dog to represent our little Yorkie and Pom-a-poo who are like our other children. {kids always love to hear about animals!} 

2. Always, and I mean always include a book at the students grade level and express your love to read EVEN IF YOU DON'T! {how can your students love reading if you don't model that love} 

3. I will also include a family photo so the children can see my daughter and my husband. {they love to know you are a person outside of teaching}

4. Paint to represent my love of crafting. {what 3/4 year old doesn't get excited about paint?!}

In the past I included more items, but I want to keep it at a minimum for my specific group of students. I suggest that you select items that relate to your students' age and typical interests. Some more examples of items to include is a football (sports), flower (gardening), food (favorite), colored item (favorite color), etc.

STAY TUNED FOR MORE, TEACHING IN THE A.M!

Teaching with Facebook {yes, I said Facebook}

Nerves are officially in full force as student teaching orientation is only four days away! I have been spending my last few days of freedom in my pajamas, but I've also been doing lots of productive "research!"

I have created a Pinterest board where I am pinning great advice that I have found from other student teachers and veteran teachers who blog advice for newbies. I have also found some great ideas for gifts and planning. If you are interested, follow my Pinterest board using the widget on the right side of the page labeled, "Connect with the A.M."

The best thing I have found in my browsing, or research as I like to call it, has been on Facebook!

It is a great Facebook group sponsored by the National Association of Special Education Teachers. The page is just a great place for networking with other Special Education teachers from across the globe. Members can ask questions, share experiences, post photos of resources and their classrooms, and tons more! It has been amazing as I am reading information from both new and old teachers which is current-- instant for that matter!

Check it out, NASET Facebook Group.

Stay tuned for more, Teaching in the A.M.

Teaching in Math Class {with reading}

While the importance of reading is always emphasized, it still seems as if it is only emphasized in the reading or English language arts classroom. The fabulous thing about reading is that it is great in any classroom and any subject area-- even MATH!

Because I am beginning my first student teaching placement in a lower elementary setting in two weeks, I have been browsing through different lower elementary articles. I {luckily} stumbled across this amazing math-related book list by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. 

The NAEYC created this amazing list of math-related children's books. Best of all- they organized the titles by content area so you can easily browse for a book related to your topic! The list also provides a brief summary/description so you can preview how the book will relate to mathematical concepts.

Go ahead, check it out! Follow the link to learn about some Math-Related Children's Literature. 

Stay tuned for more, Teaching in the A.M.

Teaching with Teachers {my TPT account}

I have been encouraged for a few months now to create a Teachers Pay Teachers account, so that fellow classmates could have access to or purchase lessons that I have presented in class. 

It is a gloomy, rainy day, so I decided that today is the day!

I have only added a few things thus far, but I have added my favorite lessons and even the accompanying handouts and cutouts that I designed myself for my Popcorn Adjectives and Writing Lesson.

Be sure to check out my store frequently as I will be adding more things soon!

Teaching in the A.M. TPT Store

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Teaching-In-The-Am

Stay tuned for more, Teaching in the A.M!

Teaching with Sponge Activities {and my return to blogging}

I am back from paradise {vacation} and I am back to blogging! 

After my wealth of summer classes and student teaching placement fast approaching, I needed a break to recollect and spend time with my family. 

With my first placement in a Pre-Kindergarten inclusive classroom being only a month away, I have been reviewing some ideas and lessons I have developed for various classes to find things that may be able to use again. Luckily, I stumbled over a collection of Sponge Activities that I developed for a kindergarten classroom. However, many of the activities can be easily adapted for younger or older children.

Sponge Activities are short, yet engaging and purposeful activities or mini-lessons that can be used to fill in "extra" time in the classroom. We all know that there is no such thing as "extra" time in a classroom, but we have all had those moments when class ends at 12:30 and our lesson ended at 12:15. These activities cover a variety of subject areas and can keep your students learning and engaged every minute of the school day!

Complete instructions for twenty of my favorite Sponge Activities can be found here, Sponge Activities {by Amanda Mason}.

Stay tuned for more, Teaching in the A.M.

Teaching from the Home {a reading nook}

There are few things more difficult than creating a Pinterest-worthy Disney Princess room- trust me, I've tried. However, there is one thing harder.

Creating a reading space that your busy-bee toddler wants to visit over and over again.

Countless research shows the importance of reading to child, so my daughter has been hearing stories since before she left the womb. Since she was born, reading has been an integral part to our daily activities and nightly routine. As she is growing older, I am thinking more and more about the importance of creating an area in my home that ignites that intrinsic desire to read through those worlds of imagination.

Needless to say, I scoured the Internet and began my journey: Disney Princess reading nook.

So far- Mission accomplished.  I finished the nook on Saturday afternoon and have been sitting under it every time we read together. I have since caught her "reading" to her stuffed animals and flipping through her favorite picture books multiple times. PARENTING WIN!

So, go ahead! Create your darling daughter or son that perfect space to curl up and truly enjoy a good book!

Oh, you don't have children? Guess what? This is awesome for a classroom of any age as well! 

Get those kiddos reading!

Stay tuned for more, teaching in the A.M.