Our Classroom Community Lesson Plans
It’s early in the year… You will be together for a LONG time (think car trip to the Grand Canyon). So you want to begin to build your classroom community.
Establishing relationships is always a top priority for me. I want a classroom that takes care of each other’s hearts. For some kindergartners, this will be their first experience interacting with a peer group. Students come to us with a variety of social history, so it is important to set the tone of a strong classroom family.
Classroom Community Read Aloud Books
Here are a few books that I use to spark a conversation.
Reading Comprehension
Part of our Guiding Readers units involves student response pages. Here are a few examples of visualization.
If you have a quiet time in your day (some call it rest time) this might be a great treat for your kiddos.
or
It starts with you
I love this idea from The Brown Bag Teacher. Notes of praise are not new, but the way she manages it is GENIUS. Please take time looking over her post as well as some of her other posts on behavior. It will be time well spent! I promise!
Centers and Stations
The Recess Queen and Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon are two of the books included in our Guiding Readers unit for August/September.
Deanna Jump and I have created centers to go with these fun books! We have differentiated the centers so they will work for kindergarten and first grade. Perfect for those students in your class who need a little more support or a challenge. You can see these units by clicking HERE.
Lesson Plans
Click on the picture below to download my lesson plans for the week with hyperlinks to the resources.
Have a fantastic week! I would love to hear your classroom community tips!
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Deedee Wills
My teaching career allowed me to experience teaching in different classroom environments and grades. My heart belongs to early childhood education. My job is to make teaching FUN, ENGAGING, and EASIER. Welcome!
Hi, I'm DeedeE.
My teaching career allowed me to experience teaching in different classroom environments and grades. My heart belongs to early childhood education. My job is to make teaching FUN, ENGAGING, and EASIER. Welcome!
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2 Responses
Hi DeeDee (and Deanna) – I love your guiding readers series and have been using it for the past 2 years. Rather than using it as a small group resource, I use it as a whole group activity, clipboards on the carpet – the kids love it. It is so easy to differentiate letting each student complete the pages according to their ability. At the end of 4 books we make a title page, spiral bind and they are sent home. Easy peasy way to teach reading strategies! Thanks!! I’m just wondering, lately I have noticed that units are being spiral bound and I’m wondering why? I use a binder with dividers. This allows me to put the originals in plastic sleeves along with anchor chart pieces. I can also save “leftovers” for the next year, (I’m into reducing!), and it allows me to add new material if I come across it. On another note, I own many, MANY of both of your products. Thanks for making such great resources. I am currently perusing my cart and wish list for the sale! Hard decisions to make! Sorry this comment is so long. Hope you both enjoy a great school year ahead. Judy
Hello DeeDee,
I love how you make a big deal about classroom community. I also think it is top priority to create good relationships from the get-go. They need to learn how to interact and understand people from other backgrounds, beliefs and cultures. I love how you said, “…it is important to set the tone of a strong classroom family.” I am starting my college practicums this semester and will be using your blog as an inspiration, being classroom community and culture one of the first lessons. Thank you for the ideas and keep up the great blog!!
Jimena