Monday, August 24, 2020

What's In a Name? Celebrating Your Students' Names

Let's talk names! Our names are an important part of our identity and as any teacher knows on the first few weeks of school, it is so important to learn our students' names and get to know them as we build relationships!




This post contains affiliate links. I earn a small commission each time someone makes a purchase using one of my links, which helps to support the blog.  All opinions are my own and I only promote brands and products that I have used myself and truly love.  


Learn Their Names Before You Meet Them

I love freaking my students out by knowing their names ahead of time.  You should see their faces when I greet them by name at the Meet the Teacher night!  I tell them it's because I know everything, but really it is the result of studying!

I use the pictures of my students on our Power School program to create flash cards with their pictures on one side and their names on the other.  I spend a few hours before school starts learning all of their names.

I know I have been guilty of butchering a name or two, so I always ask any student whose name I know I can't pronounce, "How do you say your name?  Names are important, and I want to make sure that I get yours right!"

I also make sure to ask them if they have a nickname they prefer to be called.  One year I had two Elizabeths, but they went by Lizzy and Ellie, so it made life easier!  

Another year I had a little girl who was named after her mom, and went by her middle name.  She was shocked when I said that was the name I would call her.  "My teacher last year said I had to use my given name."  

Teachers, pick your battles!  

My brother was named after my father who left our family shortly after he was born. My mom used his middle name instead.  Every teacher he ever had was ok using his preferred name, and it meant the world to him!  When he was 18 he legally changed his name.  We don't know all of our children's stories, and we should honor their choices.

Start With Some Stories

In many cultures, the names given to children hold significant meaning.  They may be named after a family member or a trait that their parents hoped that the child would embody. I love reading books with my students about names and then having them write stories about how they got their own names.  Two books that I love to read are Alma and How She Got Her Name and The Name Jar.


In this story, Alma struggles with her name (in particular the length of it - Alma .....)and asks her father why her name is so long.  He begins to tell her the story of her name and where each part has been taken from.  


The Name Jar is about a little girl named Unhei who has just moved to the United States from Korea.  She is nervous about her name and if her new friends will think of her name, especially if they can't pronounce it. She tells the class that she will choose a name by the following week.  Trying to be helpful, the class creates a name jar filled with suggestions of names for her.  With the help of a friend, Unhei chooses her own name and helps her new friends to pronounce it.  It is a beautiful story of acceptance!

My students are always fascinated by these stories about names and are anxious to learn and share about their own names.  It is one of the first writing assignments I have them complete, and is a great introduction to doing reasearch!

As students research their own names, you may want to give them this graphic organizer to help them guide their research.




Create Teach Share has a great freebie for having your students write about their names.  You can download it here.







Do you have any questions or comments?  I'm happy to answer any questions you may have or hear your ideas for celebrating your students' names! Leave a comment below.






Teacher Giveaway! Weekly $25 Teachers pay Teachers Gift Card Giveaway August 24, 2020

Teacher Giveaway

This Giveaway is Over!  Please visit our Giveaway page to enter our current giveaway.   Sign up HERE to be alerted about all of our future giveaways!

Teacher Giveaway - Weekly $25 Teachers pay Teachers gift card giveaway

Every week one lucky teacher gets to go on a Teachers pay Teachers shopping spree!  Will it be you this week?


GIVEAWAY DETAILS:  

Prize: $25 Teachers Pay Teachers Gift Card 


Rules: Use the Rafflecopter to enter.  Giveaway ends 8/31/20 and is open worldwide.  


Are you a Teacher Blogger or Teachers pay Teachers seller who wants to participate in giveaways like these to grow your store and social media?  Click here to find out how you can join our totally awesome group of bloggers! 




Sunday, August 23, 2020

The Best Book Deals this Week August 23, 2020

I often get lots of questions from other teachers about building a classroom library without breaking the bank, so each week, I share 3-7 books that are on sale right now. I also share books that YOU might like to read as well!

If you see other great deals, I'd love if you would let me know about them!




This post contains affiliate links. I earn a small commission each time someone makes a purchase using one of my links, which helps to support the blog.  All opinions are my own and I only promote brands and products that I have used myself and truly love.  


BOOK DEALS YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS THIS WEEK!

If you haven't signed up already, you don't want to miss this deal on  Kindle Unlimited! You get access to more than a million books, tons of magazines, and books that include audible narration.

Our Class is a Family is the perfect Back to School book to read! Your students will learn that the classroom is a safe place to learn while building classroom community.  It is on sale right now.  If you have Kindle Unlimited, you can get the Kindle version for free!

  

The Pigeon HAS to go to School is another great Back to School read!  Everyone loves the stubborn little pigeon, and this book about his nerves about going to school is perfect for easing students' fears of their own.


BE QUIET by Ryan T. Higgins is one of my favorite Writer's Workshop books.  It tells the story of a little mouse who is trying to write a wordless book, but the other characters have very different thoughts.


First Day Jitters is always my first day back to school read aloud. I love the surprise ending and it is a great way to teach about making predictions and looking for foreshadowing skills in the illustrations.  If my students have read it in a prior grade, I tell them not to spoil the ending, but see if they can find clues in the pictures about what is going to happen.


What books have you been reading lately? Leave a comment below to let me know!  I am always looking for new books to read!





Tuesday, August 18, 2020

Back to School Giveaway 2020

Teacher Giveaway!


This Giveaway is Over!  Please visit our Giveaway page to enter our current giveaway.   Sign up HERE to be alerted about all of our future giveaways!


I know everyone's Back to School is unlike any other back to school encounter you have ever had, but we want to make sure that it is a little easier no matter how you are going back!  



GIVEAWAY DETAILS:  

Prize: $200 Gift Card of Your Choice



Giveaway Organized by: Kelly Malloy (An Apple for the Teacher)




Rules: Use the Rafflecopter to enter.  Giveaway ends 7/25/20 and is open worldwide.


Are you a Teacher Blogger or Teachers pay Teachers seller who wants to participate in giveaways like these to grow your store and social media?  Click here to find out how you can join our totally awesome group of bloggers! 





Monday, August 17, 2020

The Best Book Deals this Week August 16, 2020

I often get lots of questions from other teachers about building a classroom library without breaking the bank, so each week, I share 3-7 books that are on sale right now. I also share books that YOU might like to read as well!

If you see other great deals, I'd love if you would let me know about them!


This post contains affiliate links. I earn a small commission each time someone makes a purchase using one of my links, which helps to support the blog.  All opinions are my own and I only promote brands and products that I have used myself and truly love.  


BOOK DEALS YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS THIS WEEK!



If you haven't signed up already, you don't want to miss this deal on  Kindle Unlimited! You get access to more than a million books, tons of magazines, and books that include audible narration.

Are you teaching on-line this year? If you are using Google for teaching, you will want to check out Stepping Up to Google Classroom: 50 Steps for Beginners to Get Started. It will help you and your students to get started, and be successful!

 

My students ALWAYS love anything by Dav Pilkey!  The Dog Man series is no exception! The 9th book, Dog Man: Grime and Punishment releases on September 1, 2020!  You can pre-order it and save money!  



If your kids are fans of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, they will love his best friend Rowley's version in Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid: Rowley Jefferson's Journal!  You will love that it is almost 60% off right now!


I mentioned last week that my students were fans of the Who Was series.  They have a few more on sale this week including this one about Neil Armstrong.  You can find Who Was Neil Armstrong on sale for just under $4.





What books have you been reading lately? Leave a comment below to let me know!  I am always looking for new books to read!






Teacher Giveaway! Weekly $25 Teachers pay Teachers Gift Card Giveaway August 17, 2020

Teacher Giveaway

his Giveaway is Over!  Please visit our Giveaway page to enter our current giveaway.   Sign up HERE to be alerted about all of our future giveaways!

Teacher Giveaway - Weekly $25 Teachers pay Teachers gift card giveaway

Every week one lucky teacher gets to go on a Teachers pay Teachers shopping spree!  Will it be you this week?


GIVEAWAY DETAILS:  

Prize: $25 Teachers Pay Teachers Gift Card 


Rules: Use the Rafflecopter to enter.  Giveaway ends 8/24/20 and is open worldwide.  


Are you a Teacher Blogger or Teachers pay Teachers seller who wants to participate in giveaways like these to grow your store and social media?  Click here to find out how you can join our totally awesome group of bloggers! 






Wednesday, August 12, 2020

The Best Book Deals this Week August 9, 2020

I often get lots of questions from other teachers about building a classroom library without breaking the bank, so each week, I share 3-7 books that are on sale right now. I also share books that YOU might like to read as well!

If you see other great deals, I'd love if you would let me know about them!


This post contains affiliate links. I earn a small commission each time someone makes a purchase using one of my links, which helps to support the blog.  All opinions are my own and I only promote brands and products that I have used myself and truly love.  


BOOK DEALS YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS THIS WEEK!



If you haven't signed up already, you don't want to miss this deal on  Kindle Unlimited! You get access to more than a million books, tons of magazines, and books that include audible narration.

If you have ever seen a Gerry Brooks video, you know he is hilarious!  Did you know that he also wrote a book?  His book, Go See the Principal is on sale right now at Amazon.  It is well worth the read!

                                               


My students LOVE reading non fiction books, especially the Who Was series.  Several of these books are on sale right now at Amazon, including Who Was Marie Curie?



Eraser is a cute book about feeling unappreciated.  It is a great way to introduce a social emotional learning lesson about helping students to appreciate each other and themselves.  the Kindle version is free if you have Kindle Unlimited, and the hardcover is on sale for almost 60% off!




Where the Wild Things are has been one of my favorite books since I was a little girl.  I love sharing it with my students each year, and they fall in love with it too!  It's on sale right now at Amazon.

                                                                                         


What books have you been reading lately? Leave a comment below to let me know!  I am always looking for new books to read!





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