Back to School Prep: Using Duct Tape for Making Mini-Books Last Longer

Making Mini-Books Last Longer for Mini-Fingers!

Hello everyone, I'm Fern from Fern Smith's Classroom Ideas. While you're prepping for back to school I would love to share one of my favorite tips. Once you invest in the paper and ink for printing mini-books and mini-readers, duct tape helps to make them last longer.

I like to use duck tape as a 
side binder OVER the staples.

Four Reasons:

1. It keeps the book together longer.

2. The BACK page is not as quick to rip off.

3. Little people don't start crying when little fingers get snagged on the back part of the staple!

Oh.the.Drama!

4. Teacher stays happy! :)

Guided Reading Groups and Fluency

You can also print 6 to 8 of the same mini-books to make sets to use again and again during your guided reading instruction. The students can use the books with white boards and white board markers. 

Another Favorite Tip: Use one color of duct tape for the binding to keep all the same titles of a book easy to find and organized. 

Click here for Michelle at Teach123 camping mini-books. 

Click here for my phonics mini-books.

Please follow me for more tips, tricks, resources and freebies!

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Fern Smith's Classroom Ideas FREE Printable Lunch Box Love Notes!

FREE Lunch Box Love Notes!

While you're planning and getting ready for back to school, here's one of my favorite freebies for you. Lunch Box Love Notes. For Teacher-Moms, as tired as we are once August and September hits, we don't want to short change our own children. I remember I really wanted my children to have a good day at school, listen to the teacher. learn a lot and make new friends. But mornings for Teacher-Moms are not like something out of the Full House TV show....many a morning at my house SOMEONE crying over SOMETHING because they weren't the center of attention at that given moment. SOMETIMES it was even me! {Just kidding, OK, no, maybe not....}

These love notes are a quick and easy way for you to show them some love when they are away from you in that big, ole' school cafetorium, as they call it in my district.  BUT no lie, a very easy prep, I would write five on Saturday afternoon or Sunday night and hide them in my bedroom. That way I was ready to slip one in their lunch box each morning and if they wanted to buy their lunch that day, I had it ready to slip into their backpack. My FREEBIE has enough for 24 notes, that way you can use a different one each school day for a month! 

These Love Notes are also perfect for teachers to use as an End Of The Day student note! ♥

My favorite author, Erma Bombeck once said something about school notes....If they are typed on nice paper and signed in pen, they have been forged by the child, a real Mom has to grab a red crayon and writes on a kitchen napkin. :)

Some mornings, showing your love with a red crayon on a napkin is just terrific too! Enjoy!

Click here to download it!

Please follow me for more tips, tricks, resources and freebies!

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FREE Inside Recess activities and tips

Happy Fall from Teach123!

Sometimes the new season, means a change in weather and the inevitable inside recess.  If you haven't discussed the procedures for this yet with your class, I would add it to your "to do" list.  Your substitute will appreciate it if you include detailed instructions about what activities and materials your students can do or use for inside recess.

Plan now a variety of activities before your class catches cabin fever. It will make these days a little less hectic. 

My choice of activity was based on my students' behavior, energy level, how many inside recess days in a row we've had, and my energy level.

Games are helpful when my students are in a social mood.  

• Through the year I have accumulated games from thrift stores and parents.  Since I save them for special times like inside recess, the novelty of the experience holds my students' attention.  It helps if you collect games that vary with difficulty level and how many players are required to play. Suggestions:
• Operation, Barrel Full of Monkeys, Connect Four, Perfection, Don't Spill the Beans, Ants in the Pants, Don't Break the Ice, Hi Ho Cherrio, Boggle, Chutes and Ladders, Candy Land, Sorry, and Trouble

Integrating science and art is a good activity when my students have very talkative. Click HERE to read the post.

Listen & Draw activities are a quiet activity that also strengthens students' listening skills. These are especially helpful to use when you've had a couple of inside days in a row.  Click HERE to read the post.

Some of the games I played when I was a child are my favorites to use for inside recess. This post shares a few you might want to try.  There is minimal prep involved. 

Have you tried squiggle stories?  My students have always enjoyed them.  I like to keep special supplies in my closet that I use for inside recess. It's amazing the difference you will see when you bring out a box of 64 count crayons!  Click HERE for a copy of squiggle stories.

What are your favorite inside recess activities?

Sources to make my blog post graphics can be found HERE.  Click HERE to read my blog's disclosure statement.

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FREE Printable Lunch Box Love Notes

FREE Lunch Box Love Notes!

I know that this is the craziest time of year, but for Teacher-Moms, as tired as we are, we don't want to short change our own kids. I remember I really wanted my children to have a good day at school, listen to the teacher. learn a lot and make new friends. But mornings for Teacher-Moms are not like something out of the Leave it to Beaver TV show....many a morning at my house was SOMEONE crying over SOMETHING because they weren't the center of attention at that given moment. SOMETIMES it was even me!

These love notes are a quick and easy way for you to show them some love when they are away from you in that big, ole' cafetorium, as they call it in my district.  BUT no lie, I would write five on Saturday afternoon or Sunday night and hide them in my bedroom. That way I was ready to each morning and if they wanted to buy their lunch that day, I had it ready to slip into their backpack instead. My FREEBIE has enough for 24 notes, that way you can use a different one each school day for a month! Perfect also for teachers to use as an End Of The Day student note!

My favorite author, Erma Bombeck once said something about school notes....If they are typed on nice paper and signed in pen, they have been forged by the child, a real Mom has to grab a red crayon and writes on a kitchen napkin. :)

Some mornings, showing your love with a red crayon on a napkin is just terrific too! Enjoy!

Click here to download it!

I would just ♥love it if 
you would follow me!

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Back to School Freebie!

Just in time for back to school, my Football Fun! Color for Fun! has four printable coloring pages. 

Perfect for indoor recess, literacy centers, fine motor skills, a reward sheet, homework packets, the possibilities are endless! These sheets are part of my larger bundle, Fall Fun! Color for Fun!

{Click Here to See It}

I'm Fern from Fern Smith's Classroom Ideas, stop by my blog anytime for tips, tricks, resources and freebies for your classroom!

The OWLS invite you back on Sunday for our BIG, BIG, BIG Giveaway! Trust me, you will want to see all the great things we are giving away! :)

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Reading Choices: Daily 5, SSR, & Homework

Do you find that your students check out the same types of books at the library?  If so, it is time to expand their horizons on the Reading Highway!  

You can incorporate the Reading Highway with:

• Daily 5
• D.E.A.R. time
• SSR
• Reading homework
• Genre unit
• Social Studies
• Geography
• Read Across America

It is an easy way to document your students' free reading at school or home.  The added bonus is you are integrating reading and social studies.  Too often, social studies is a subject that is takes a backseat to other subjects because of standardized testing.  With a little planning and integration, you can expand your students' reading horizons.

Too often, when we visit the library we naturally gravitate to books that we love.  It wasn't until I joined a book club that more structured than most, that I changed my philosophy on adding a little structure to my students' free reading choices.  I joined a book club that read a book from a different genre each month.  One month the selection for my book club was non-fiction.  I have never been a fan of non-fiction.  In fact, if I buy something new, I am more apt to try to put it together without reading the direction first.  I do not recommend this policy!  Our selection for the non-fiction month was Malcom Gladwell's, The Tipping Point.

Oh!  My gosh!  I was completely hooked from the first chapter.  As a teacher, I have always looked for these type of things - tipping points.  What are the tipping points, the changes or tweaks that I can make that can have a ripple effect on my students' reading achievement, improved behavior, and less paperwork?  Gladwell's style of writing makes it hard to put down his books.  I now buy all of his books as soon as they come out.   I don't even wait for the paperback!

After my experience with my book club, I was bound and determined to expand my students' horizons, too!  I told my class what had happened to me.  I also explained that I didn't necessarily love every single genre that I tried, but it is a little like food.  You have to try several before you know for sure that you don't like it.   You can read more about my book club experience and pick up a FREEBIE by clicking HERE.

I have structured my students' free reading time different ways.  Some times I have a genre focus.  Other times I divided my class into groups and each group had a different genre to focus on for that month and then we rotated genres each month.  At the end of the month, groups gave a mini report about the genre.  It was like a commercial for that genre.

Another way I have structured free reading time is by integrating social studies and reading.  Students have to read books from different states or regions.  

I found my students were more motivated when I used this visual.  Students names were on a car and the students put the cars on the state to show the setting of the book they were reading.  Each time they changed books, they moved their car.  My students loved to watch their classmates' travels on the Reading Highway.  It was one of those "oh, this is why I became a teacher moments" when I heard when my students comparing details from their stories about the climate and terrain plus other details from the story that showed me my students were becoming more aware of geography and how it impacted the story .  These were snatches of things I heard when we were lining up for specials and lunch.  Love it when a lesson spills over into their conversations.  You should have seen how many times my students were crowded around the map!  I bought a map at Costco several years ago that was really large and was already laminated.  I hot glued it to my wall where we lined up.  It was a great investment.

If you want to structure using the region program, I would recommend that you put your students in region groups.  I found it easiest to have tubs of books sorted by regions.  You can also ask your librarian to sort a few for you before your class goes to the library.

I have a Pinterest board with links to book lists, books, and other resources that are helpful.  Click on the picture below if you'd like to check these out.

I also have a FREE sample of my Reading Highway packet for you.

You are invited to pop over to my blog.  I love to share tips and free stuff.

Sources to make my blog post graphics can be found HERE. Click HERE to read my blog's disclosure statement.

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