Author: Taalim

Teacher Survival Kits and Student Welcome

SURVIVAL KITS

Have a student teacher or a secret pal? Give him/her this little survival kit. Place all items in a brown lunch bag along with this handout:

1. When it spills, wipe it (paper towel)

2. When it cries or sneezes, dry it (tissue)

3. When it bleeds bandage it (Band-Aid)

4. When it needs a hug and a kiss, give it (candy kiss)

5. When it rips, pin it (safety pin)

6. When it’s sour, sweeten it (pack of sugar)

7. When it’s wrong, erase it (eraser)

8. When it pounds, soothe it (aspirin)

9. When it hurts, grin and “bear” it (bear sticker)

10. When it’s important, write it down (note pad sheet)

11. When it’s a good day, chalk it up (piece of chalk)

12. When it’s a bad day, ask God for strength and hope for a better day tomorrow (nothing is found in the survival kit for this need – it comes only from the heart and soul of the teacher).

13. When it’s gossip, cut it out and dispose of it (word gossip on a sheet of paper with cutting dashes around it)

WELCOME BAGS

Place the items described below in a brown lunch bag and include this handout:

The items in this bag have special meaning:

The cotton ball is to remind you that this room is full of kind words and warm feelings.

The chocolate kiss is to comfort you when you are feeling sad.

The tissue is to remind you to help dry someone’s tears.

The sticker is to remind you that we all stick together and help each other.

The star is to remind you to shine and always try your best.

The gold thread is to remind you that friendship ties our hearts together.

The rubber band is to remind you to hug someone.

The penny is to remind you that you are valuable and special.

The toothpick is to remind you to “pick out” the good qualities in your classmates.

The bandage is to heal hurt feelings in your friends and in yourself.

The eraser is to remind you that we all make mistakes, and that is O.K.

The life saver is to remind you that you can come to me if you need someone to talk to.

A School/Class Recognition Project

The concept is based on the ideas of “Pay It Forward” and blue ribbon awards.

MATERIALS:

  • royal blue ribbon, the 3/4′ works best and is sold on spools
  • small gold safety pins, be sure they are the kind that have a loop (or a curl) scissors
  • thimble-you will REALLY appreciate having this
  • zip lock type bags, gallon for class and quart sized for 3 ribbons per student
  • sharpie
  • optional: colorful or cheery computer paper, to write a personal message or instructions
  • optional: a children’s book to illustrate kindness, selfless or related ideas

METHOD:

  1. Pre-teaching activities: Submit the idea in writing or verbally to the principal, assistant principal and if possible your team leader, it is crucial to have the support of your administrator and team for the success of this project. Once you have the go ahead, enlist help to cut, place on the safety pin (like the AIDS and Cancer ribbons) count and sort into bags per student and class. On a Friday or Monday present the idea to the class to gage interest and publicity
  2. Open with a short brainstorm discussion or children’s story about kindness, recognition or other related topics.
  3. After a few minutes, share a brief story of someone that you want to recognize and why.
  4. Then call on a few students to briefly share similar stories.
  5. Then after they have ownership of the idea of recognition, pass out blue ribbons to the students individually and help them put them on if needed.
  6. Another way is to start with 1-5 students and individually recognize them and have those students in turn recognize another student and so on until the whole class has been recognized.
  7. Try to say something to each student, but in the interest of time a whole class statement is fine.
  8. After they are wearing their ribbons, have them think about someone that they would like to recognize for their positive contributions.
  9. Then pass out the individual zip lock bags with 3 ribbons to each student.
  10. The students recognize one person and present them with a ribbon, then the other two ribbons that are left in the bag.
  11. The recognized person then recognizes another person and presents them a ribbon and the remaining ribbon in the bag for them to pass on.
  12. To adapt this activity for the whole school: With the administrator’s approval, make ribbons for each student in the whole school-enlist help for this if possible.
  13. Have a student from your class pass out the ribbon bags to each teacher in the school, and be sure to have the students recognize everyone on the campus with a presentation of a ribbon, and possibly one to pass on. You might want to discuss this project in detail with the faculty in writing (on the cheery paper) or e-mail, a brief presentation at a faculty meeting is also good. You may also want to have the students in your class create a mini-explanation and type it up to copy/distribute with the ribbons.

EXTENSIONS:

  • Upper elementary learners can write journal entries about topics relating to the project including the person they gave a ribbon to and why, personal reflections/opinions about the project. Lower elementary can create a picture and a sentence, or dictate what is in the picture.
  • The student excitement and enthusiasm for this project is contagious! Not to mention the parents and the rest of the school. It is amazing to see virtually a whole school wearing blue ribbons and a smile.

A List of things to do before School starts

ROOM ENVIRONMENT
  • Decide on a theme for your classroom
  • Prepare/purchase bulletin board materials
  • Decide where to post notices/materials
  • Make a classroom welcome sign
  • Set up learning centers, display tables, and student work areas

SUPPLIES

  • Writing, drawing, and construction paper
  • Pencils/Pens
  • Crayons
  • Paste/glue
  • Stapler/staples
  • Paper clips
  • Rubber bands
  • Straight and safety pins
  • Transparent tape
  • Manila folders
  • Marking pens
  • Rulers
  • Art supplies
  • Grade book
  • Lesson plan book
  • Attendance materials
  • Textbooks/workbooks
  • Boxes for keeping units

FIND OUT ABOUT

  • Fire drills
  • Tornado drills
  • Lunch procedure
  • Staff handbook
  • Dismissal procedure
  • Your colleagues

STUDENT PREP

  • Make student name tags
  • Prepare first-day materials to send home (emergency cards, school/classroom rules, bus regulations/info, letter to parents, classroom schedule)
  • Prepare class list
  • Decide on your seating procedure
  • Check records for students with special needs

GETTING ORGANIZED

  • Brainstorm class expectations
  • Arrange desks
  • Pin up bulletin boards, notices, etc.
  • Write lesson plans for the first week
  • Duplicate materials for first week
  • Write daily schedule, date, and your name on the board
  • Prepare files for parent correspondence, school bulletins, and sub teachers

THINK ABOUT PROCEDURES FOR…

  • Book distribution
  • Turning in work, format of work
  • Handing back assignments
  • Homework
  • Grading–recording grades, extra credit, portfolios
  • Housekeeping procedures–clean up, supply storage
  • Rewards and incentives
  • Communicating with parents
  • Signals for students’ attention
  • Daily routines–beginning of day, transition times, independent and group work
  • Agenda use and motivators