Giveaway week 3 - Self-Starts & Homework

Have you heard of Educents? I hadn't heard of it until recently, and was so excited when I discovered it!! It's basically like groupon or living social, but for teachers. I have already made a few purchases for my classroom and am loving all the great deals that get delivered to my inbox each day. Check out some of the things I've snagged recently:

 

Right now, Educents has a great deal going on. Sign up for educents by August 31st and get a free $5 credit to use toward your first purchase. Click HERE to get started :)

Okay, today we are going to talk about self-starts. This concept has many titles (self-start, morning work, bell-ringer, etc.) but the concept is the same. Kids need to have a consistent, independent activity that they can start working on as soon as they arrive at school. I have found that having an effective self-start can really set the tone for your entire school day. Now, I don't know about you, but I am NOT a morning person, so I always need a few minutes to collect my thoughts anyway, but it seems like every morning there's a hundred things that need my attention RIGHTTHISECOND!! We use an online attendance program, so I have to be at my computer checking attendance and getting it submitted on time, and it seems like there's always an email from the principal that needs attention, or a note from a parent that needs a reply, not to mention students who need to pay lunch money or need the phone pass because they forgot their lunch. ANNNND, please tell me my class isn't the only class that has kids dilly dally forEVER at the coat rack.... Hanging up a coat and backpack should NOT be so complicated!!

So, as you can tell, the first 15 minutes are a blur every. single. morning. This year we are trying a block schedule, which I thought was a great idea, until 2nd grade was put in the very first block at 8:45 (and our tardy bell rings at 8:40... Eek! Talk about a busy morning)... So, I'm still not sure exactly how the self-start will work in my classroom this year (my guess be that when we return to the classroom at 9:30, I will have them work on the self-start, since most mornings we will start somewhere other than our classroom). But, either way, I still swear by self-starts. The two important things to remember about a self-start is that it must be both SIMPLE and CONSISTENT. It is important for kids to internalize this skill. This should be as natural as waking up in the morning. They should come in the classroom, hang up their backpack, turn in their homework, and get started on their self-start. Of course, this is going to take some major training at the beginning of the year. The more time you put into it at the beginning of the year, the better off your whole year will be! For the past few years, I have had a self-start basket with these little half-sheets of paper for the kids to work on.  

 

They knew that after they had hung up their bags and turned in their homework, they picked up this paper and began working on it while I took attendance and checked their planners. The only problem with these books is that they were created before the common core (BCC as I call it)... Some companies are scrambling to align their products to meet CC standards, and other companies (such as arithmetic developed daily) have said that they have no intention of updating their products.  That's what makes today's giveaway so great.... I've rounded up all sorts of common core aligned goodies to get your mornings off to a great start. Be sure to scroll down to the rafflecopters at the bottom to enter each giveaway. Because so many of these are grade specific, there will be a lot of rafflecopters this week. Enter as many as you want that apply to your grade!!

The other thing I wanted to talk about is homework. The dreaded word.... Every parent's (and many teachers') worst nightmare. As a brand new teacher, I never assigned homework, other than when students were absent. The only homework my little firsties had was to read 20 minutes each night. I honestly didn't know much about homework and was surprised that so many parents WANTED homework for their kids... To this day, I have a love/hate relationship with homework. Aside from the reading homework (which is a mandatory school-wide requirement as part of our participation in the "Road to Success" program), we have been told that students should have 10 minutes of homework per grade level they are in (so 1st grade = 10 mins, 2nd grade = 20 mins, 3rd grade = 30 mins, etc.). Everyone has their own philosophy on homework, and nobody is right or wrong when it comes to this topic. Now, I am definitely not an expert, but I'm going to tell you my beliefs about homework. First off, I agree with the 10 minutes per grade. That is a good rule of thumb. My students have (on average) 40 minutes or less of homework each day. The 20 minutes of reading is really non-negotiable. We all know that reading is the key to becoming a better reader.... Kids should be reading EVERY DAY at home. The only other homework I assign is spelling (and seriously, it is nothing glamorous.... I have a paper that another teacher made, and frankly, that's good enough for me. Ain't nobody got time to deal with making spelling homework pages every week), fluency (this can be done with 6 minute solution, decodables, anything that you already have... Don't make it complicated), and math 3-4 times per week. Math is probably my least favorite homework to assign, because our new common core math text is a little bit hard, and some of the homework is confusing even for the parents.  I also give my students math flash cards and tell them to practice the basic addition facts.

The thing I've learned about homework is that a student's in class performance will tell me whether or not they are actually DOING their homework or not (even if their planner is signed each and every day). If they are not passing off their math facts on rocket math, I know they are not practicing their flash cards at home. If their DIBELS scores don't increase as I progress monitor them, I know that they aren't reading at home. If their spelling test score is low, they are probably not practicing at home each day like they should be. The more years I've taught, the less I seem to correct from day to day (I either do a quick check and skim over it, or we correct the paper together in class.) I have found that a 5 (A) child will usually turn in 5 quality work.... A 4 (B) child will turn in 4 quality work, and so on. It doesn't seem to matter if I correct 5, 10, or 100 assignments.

Wow, this has become another novel. Sorry everyone! Here's a quick overview of everything up for grabs this week!! Giveaways close Wednesday night at midnight mountain standard time! Thanks for entering and good luck!
** please note, the “leave a comment” option is on every rafflecopter… one comment will cover all the “comment” entries :)

Up first is a fabulous Monthly Learning Journal from Ashleigh’s Education Journey. Read more about it here.  I am so excited to use this in my classroom this year! 3 lucky winners are going to snag this amazing packet!! This is great for a self-start, fast-finisher, homework, or anytime activity!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Next I have 2 sets of math prompts from Jennifer at Teaching With Grace.  She has these for both kindergarten and 1^st grade! One kindergarten teacher and one 1^st grade teacher will win these! This is a year-long resource that is incredible! (make sure to include your grade in the rafflecopter!)

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

One winner is going to snag a cute owl-themed year-long spelling packet from Laura Love to Teach.  This is so much cooler than the lame spelling homework I send home with my students… looks like I might need to revamp things a little!

a Rafflecopter giveaway  

LaToya from Flying into First is donating 2 of her 1^st grade morning work packets. These would have been great to have as a first year teacher!

a Rafflecopter giveaway  

Angela from The Daily Alphabet is donating a whopping 222 page packet of Kindergarten morning work for the ENTIRE YEAR… one lucky teacher is going to hit the jackpot with this giveaway!! (If only I had the patience to teach kindergarten!!)

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Fab 4 teachers are offering their RTI letter and sound identification practice pages… another great resource for all you amazing kindergarten teachers! Read all about it here!  3 teachers will be lucky enough to win this great packet!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And last, but certainly not least, is a STELLAR math homework packet from the super talented Lory Evans.  Maybe I’m just a little bit biased since she is also from Utah, but I swear this woman must have super-human powers to do all that she does.  Lory has revolutionized math homework as we know it… I am SO excited to try this out.  I don’t know why I bother making anything… as long as Lory continues to teach 2^nd grade, I’m set! I love everything she makes!!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway **BONUS** Every Winner is also going to win an incredible reading log from 2^nd grade surprise!  She has these created for grades 1 – 5 and they are awesome!! Take a look for yourself: