Hello everyone. Hard to believe, but the summer months are drawing to a close. September is right around the corner and a new school year is about to commence. For us, teachers, it is that time again – setting up, organizing, preparing and planning for the year ahead. As we get ready to open our doors and our hearts to the newest treasures, I would like to share a poem I wrote, welcoming everyone on this great journey together. Feel free to download a copy of the poem and use it in your classroom – just click on the image below.
One of the things I like to set up at this time of year is individual student portfolios. I designate a specific area in the classroom for showcasing each child’s work in a bulletin format. Throughout the year I make sure to add new writing pieces to each child’s portfolio, highlighting their growth and changes over the course of the year. It is always fascinating to see their progress, however big or small their steps may be.
As an extension to the poem, Please Stay Awhile, I prepared an initial portfolio assignment. Toward the end of the first week of school, students will be invited (in small groups) to sketch a picture of themselves and write their name. Please note that this is not an assessment piece. It merely gives me an indication of where my students are at – a point of reference for each child’s starting point. It is also a great way for me to see what my returning SK students retained from the previous year. Perhaps the best use of this task is that it allows me to plan my program in a way to address whole-group as well as individual needs. Feel free to download a copy of the template by clicking on the image below.
Happy Start-of-the-Year everyone. As always, your comments and feedback are most welcome.
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Thank you,
Lora
Please Stay Awhile by Lora Rozler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
m I wrote, along with a craft I created and will be using with my Kindergarten students this
a dress-shirt template, 3 tie templates (one with stripes that students can colour in a pattern, one with polka dots, and another for students to draw their own design). The shirt template is best photocopied on light construction paper, and the tie on white paper. Once the tie is cut out, have students glue the top of the tie onto the neckline of the shirt. When the tie is lifted, it will reveal the poem, My Hero, beneath.
(to create shoulders), and the rest of the shirt can be decorated in any way the students choose (polka-dots, stripes, finger-paint splotches, etc.).
Words On A Limb 